KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket opened slightly firmer today. The NZSX-50 index was up 9.23 points to 4126.08 at 10.10am.
No.2 stock Fletcher Building recovered 17c of the 42c it lost yesterday after it reported a record profit but signalled flattish trading ahead. Brokers said the selling was more profit taking than disappointment.
Top stock Telecom was down 3c to 431 after announcing it had opened two Auckland exchanges to rivals ihug and Orcon for trials today.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 7c to 355 having lost 9c yesterday. It has been swinging strongly with the choppy currency trading.
Hallenstein Glasson was up 9c to 470 to build on yesterday's 16c rally. Yesterday, the clothing retailer forecast a flat August year profit despite a difficult summer.
Australian bank stocks continued yesterday's rally with ANZ up 25c to 3250 and Westpac up 8c to 2930.
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In the US, stocks rose for a third session, a day after the Federal Reserve reassured investors about the economy and technology bellwether Cisco, raised its revenue outlook.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 2 per cent, led by Cisco, the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment. This pushed the Nasdaq up 4 per cent for the week so far -- its best three-day percentage gain in a year.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 153.56 points to end at 13,657.86. During the session, the Dow swung 211.03 points from its session low at 13,484.79 to its session high at 13,695.82.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 20.78 points to finish at 1,497.49.
- NZPA