Moderate gains on sharemarket

The New Zealand sharemarket gained moderately in early trading, following a surge in stocks around the world.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 6.29 points to 3152.89, having gained 31.1 points yesterday.

NZ Refining Co gained 10c to $4.35 early, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 5c to $3.25, Sky TV lifted 2c to $4.70, and Fletcher Building gained 2c to $7.91.

Restaurant Brands was up another 4c to $1.66, on top of a 16c gain yesterday following a profit upgrade.

Dual-listed Westpac was up 35c to $31.05, ANZ lifted 20c to $28.20, and Telstra was up 6c to $4.44.

The main early decline was in Sky City shares, which fell 5c to $3.45 following an 8c gain yesterday.

NZX was also down 5c, to $7.80, but on low volume, while Contact Energy slipped 2c to $5.88, and The Warehouse was down 2c to $4.16.

The surge in global stocks came on upbeat economic news from around the world and as fears eased that Dubai's debt woes could rekindle a credit crisis.

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In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average rose to its highest close in 14 months, as a weak US dollar boosted natural resource companies' shares and housing data reassured investors about economic recovery.

The Dow Jones gained 1.2 per cent to end unofficially at 10,471.58, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.2 per cent to finish unofficially at 1108.86, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.5 per cent, to close unofficially at 2175.81.

- NZPA