Sharemarket lifts early

The New Zealand sharemarket rose in early trading, after the United States Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero for "an extended period" .

Among leading shares in this country Fletcher Building gained 6c early to $8.05 after losing 12c yesterday, while Telecom was up 2c to $2.56.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 12.72 points to 3179.42, having gained 7.7 points yesterday.

Other early risers today included Port of Tauranga up 5c to $7.00, South Port 4c to $2.65, Freightways 3c to $3.08, and New Image 3c to 60c.

Stocks lifting 2c early included Infratil to $1.60, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare to $3.14, Rakon to $1.16, F&P Appliances to 64c, Hellaby Holdings to $1.68, Briscoe Group to $1.15, and Nuplex to $2.45.

NZ Wine Co lost 10c early to $2.00, while retailer Kirkcaldie & Stains was up 20c, or 8 per cent, to $2.70 - both on light volume.

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In the US stocks rallied but lost steam after the Fed's announcement.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 per cent to end unofficially at 9801.83, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.1 per cent to finish unofficially at 1046.50, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.1 per cent to close unofficially at 2055.52.

- NZPA