KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket started strongly, after US equities soared on signals from the Federal Reserve that it is in no rush to raise US interest rates and as oil prices tumbled further.
Shortly after the market's 10am opening today the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 33.48 points, or 1 per cent, to 3329.16, more than reversing yesterday's 23.5 point fall.
Top stock Telecom was among the early risers, gaining 7c early to 374 ahead of its result on Friday, after losing 9c yesterday.
Contact Energy was up 9c to 845 and Fletcher Building rose 16c to 651, while both Fisher & Paykel stocks were up 7c - Appliances to 205 and Healthcare to 285.
The Warehouse was up 6c to 346, with Pike River Coal also adding 6c, taking it to 203 and making up most of the 8c lost yesterday.
Also gaining were Port of Tauranga up 5c early to 660, Rakon 4c to 260, Sky TV 3c to 470 and Tower 3c to 210.
Among few stocks to fall early, NZ Oil & Gas was down 2c to 155, while Michael Hill International slipped 1c to 80c.
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In the US, the Fed, as expected, left benchmark lending rates unchanged at 2 per cent, and its accompanying statement soothed investors who had worried that inflation headwinds would force the central bank to drive up borrowing costs in coming months.
Oil prices fell more than 2 per cent, closing below the US$120 a barrel mark for the first time in three months. That provided further relief on the inflation front and offered hope for consumer spending, which has been pressured by record petrol prices.
Big winners on the day included retailers, banks and airlines, while commodity-related shares extended their retreat along with the drop in price of crude oil and gold.
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 2.94 per cent to 11,615.36, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 2.85 per cent to 1284.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.81 per cent, to 2349.83.
- NZPA
