KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket followed the lead of other markets around the world when it opened with a strong lift today.
Leading stocks were to the fore in this country with Contact Energy up 15c early to 686, Fletcher Building up 14c to 552 and Telecom up 5c to 237.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 39 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 2738.82, having yesterday closed down 6.9 points.
Stock markets around the world rebounded, helped by several governments reinforcing their plans for countering the global economic crisis and by signs the US was close to providing emergency finance for its automakers.
There's "some chance" that equities markets made a bottom on November 21, Bob Doll, global chief investment officer for equities at fund manager, BlackRock, told Reuters.
"I think we've broken the downtrend and gone sideways," he said.
In the US, preliminary figures put the Dow Jones industrial average up 3.4 per cent at the close, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index up 3.8 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index up 4.1 per cent.
Companies associated with large construction projects, such as Dow component Caterpillar were among the top gainers.
"Look at the sectors that are working, anything infrastructure-related is getting a lift," said Kevin Kruszenski, head of listed trading at KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland.
European shares soared, boosted by commodities and financial stocks, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closing 6.9 per cent higher.
Rising stocks in New Zealand included Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 10c to 149, NZ Oil & Gas up 6c to 128, Tower up 6c to 155, and Nuplex up 5c to 335.
Guinness Peat Group was up 4c to 104, while stocks up 3c early included F&P Healthcare to 305, Goodman Fielder to 173, Infratil to 168, Mainfreight to 475, Pike River Coal to 95, and Sky City to 299.
- NZPA