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The New Zealand sharemarket started the last day of a horrible year for investors with a small gain, after a strong showing by equities in the United States despite continuing bad US economic data.
Helping hold the market up in this country early were leading stocks Telecom, which was up 2c to 227, and Fletcher Building which reversed yesterday's loss by adding 9c to 560.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 6.52 points to 2684.74, following a flat day yesterday.
Several stocks gained 2c early, including Sky City which went to 306, Ryman Healthcare to 143, NZ Oil & Gas to 126, and Michael Hill International to 57. NZX was up 3c to 548.
Among stocks losing ground early were Contact Energy, down 4c to 720, Ebos Group 5c to 415, and Freightways 2c to 315.
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In the US, stocks ended higher after the government expanded its bailout of the auto industry, bolstering hopes that lawmakers would continue to take steps to minimise the severity of the year-long recession.
The Bush Administration said it would extend an additional US$1 billion ($1.76 billion) loan to General Motors Corp and take a US$5 billion stake in the automaker's financing arm, GMAC, in the latest move to ease the credit crisis.
The rise in stocks came despite data showing prices of single-family homes plunging a record 18 per cent in October from a year earlier, while consumer confidence fell to a record low.
The Dow Jones industrial average provisionally ended up 2.2 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.7 per cent.
- NZPA