KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket was up firmly early following a strong overnight lead from Wall Street.
Around 10.10am the benchmark NZSX-50 had risen 28.64 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 3545.31.
That follows two days of rises after falls on the previous five days.
Contact Energy was up 18c to 895, after having risen 29c in the previous two days.
Brokers said the stock was being propelled higher by news Contact was spending $250 million on two gas turbines, combined with high power prices, even though recent heavy rain has taken the edge off a looming power crisis.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 9c to 229 early after announcing a global manufacturing strategy, which included closing a Dunedin factory with the loss of around 430 jobs.
Other rising stocks included Fletcher Building up 3c to 839, Freightways up 4c to 344, Guinness Peat Group up 4c to 172, Hallenstein Glasson up 5c to 365, and Infratil up 3c to 215.
Top stock Telecom picked up 3c to 371, Steel & Tube lifted 5c to 340, Sky TV was up 7c to 470, and Trustpower up 10c to 770.
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In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 2.08 per cent to close at 12,619.27, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 2.27 per cent to
1364.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.8 per cent to close at 2350.11.
Solid results from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo & Co heartened investors who had been counting on the big banks to fare better than rivals in coping with the turmoil in the housing and credit markets. Technology stocks also had a strong day.
- NZPA