KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket started solidly higher after equities in the United States spurted higher in late trade.
Helping pull the market ahead in this country, Fletcher Building added 12c early to 550, while Contact Energy was up 10c to 660. Telecom was unchanged in early trade at 234.
Around 10.20am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 21.82 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 2672.96, having yesterday closed down nearly 32 points.
Auckland Airport, which today announced a new organisational structure and leadership team, was up 4c to 168.
Among other early risers, The Warehouse was up 8c to 330, and Port of Tauranga added 6c to 586.
Stocks adding 3c included Fisher & Paykel Appliances, to 143, Guinness Peat Group to 98, and Rakon to 149.
Stocks down early included Mainfreight, which lost 5c on low volume to 465, while ANZ Banking Group lost 10c to 1700.
In the US, stocks snapped back from the previous session's huge losses after General Electric, a global bellwether, lifted optimism by pledging to leave its dividend intact in a tough economy.
Investors wary about the economy drew solace from Ford Motor Co chief executive Alan Mulally, who said the automaker has enough cash to make it through 2009 and might not need government help.
Rival General Motors Corp said late in the trading session that it needs US$12 billion ($23.1 billion) in government loans to continue operating; the news briefly shook the market, but stocks rebounded before the close.
Unofficially the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 3.3 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index leapt 4 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3.7 per cent.
- NZPA