KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket started strongly today, following a 1.8 per cent gain yesterday and after US stocks had their biggest rise in a fortnight.
By 10.10am the NZSX-50 benchmark index was up 38.69 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 3572.26, having gained 63 points yesterday.
Top stock Telecom was up 3c early to 387 on top of a 10c gain yesterday.
Second ranked Fletcher Building added 9c to 884, having jumped 36c yesterday, while Contact Energy was up 15c early today to 825, after lifting 11c yesterday.
Hallenstein Glassons rose 8c early to 395, Infratil was up 5c to 220, Mainfreight lifted 7c to 610, Port of Tauranga lifted 10c to 615, and Pumpkin Patch was up 10c to 195.
Also up 10c early was Sky City, taking it to 390, while another to gain 10c early was Trustpower, moving to 765.
Shares in Rakon were up 15c to 340, while The Warehouse gained 4c to 590, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 6c to 301, Auckland International Airport up 3c to 232, and Air New Zealand up 3c to 134.
Among few stocks to decline early today, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was down 3c to 239.
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In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 3.19 per cent to end at 12,654.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.59 per cent to 1370.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 3.67 per cent to 2362.75.
- NZPA