KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket started strongly today, following a near 2 per cent rise in US equities.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 22.57 points to 3578.54.
Yesterday the index closed down 1.7 points, gaining support from the Reserve Bank's signal that interest rates could fall by the end of the year, but under pressure from a weaker Australian market.
Today Australian shares are expected to bounce when the market opens, following the rise on Wall Street.
In this country top stock Telecom was up 3c early to 394, while dual-listed banking stock ANZ added 76c, or 3 per cent, to 2600.
Among other leading stocks Contact Energy was up 8c early to 899, while Fletcher Building lifted 10c to 780.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 3c early to 251, after yesterday rising 14c as it led gains by export stocks on the back of interest rate cut expectations. F&P Appliances was also up 3c early today, to 233.
Other stocks to rise early included retailer Hallenstein Glasson, up 2c to 323, fishing company Sanford up 11c to 511, Sky City up 4c to 370, and Tourism Holdings up 2c to 164.
Stocks to fall early included Trustpower, down 3c to 847, and Pumpkin Patch down 1c to 170.
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US stocks rose the most in more than a month after Wal-Mart and other retailers posted stronger-than-expected May sales and data showed a surprising fall in weekly jobless claims, spurring optimism about the economy's health.
Energy stocks gave the biggest boost to the Dow and the S&P 500. The price of oil roared back from a three-week low as a big drop in the dollar forced traders to backtrack from bets that crude had further to fall.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.73 per cent to close at 12,604.45, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 1.95 per cent to 1404.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.87 per cent to finish the day at 2549.94.
For the Dow and the S&P, it was the best daily percentage change since mid-April, while it was the Nasdaq's best day since May 1.
- NZPA