KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket gained in early trading, with investors continuing to show support for Pike River Coal which late on Friday reported it had struck coal at its West Coast mine after two years of tunnelling.
That pushed Pike River's shares up 7c on Friday and early today they were up a further 7c to $1.43. NZ Oil & Gas, which owns a little more than 30 per cent of Pike River, was up 6c to $1.14.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 16.26 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 2825.03. On Friday it gained 1.6 per cent.
The solid early gain in this country comes despite United States stocks ending last week in decline on weakness in manufacturing and financial stocks after bleak data on consumer confidence and construction.
The rise also came despite an 88c, or 24.4 per cent, dive in Steel & Tube shares to $2.72.
After the market closed on Friday it was announced that Australia's second-largest steelmaker OneSteel had terminated its takeover of Steel & Tube Holdings, citing increased market volatility.
OneSteel, which holds a 50.27 per cent interest in Steel & Tube, was offering $4 for every share in the company it doesn't own, valuing the deal at about $175 million.
Among leading stocks Telecom was up 2c early to $2.36, after an 11c gain on Friday at the end of what had until then been a dismal week for the market heavyweight.
Contact Energy was up 10c early to $7.16 on light volume, but Fletcher Building was down 3c to $5.95.
Guinness Peat Group was up 4c to $1.00, Hallenstein Glasson lifted 3c to $2.55, and Trustpower was up 5c to $7.05.
The Warehouse slipped 2c early to $3.85, having gained 30c on Friday amid speculation Australia's top grocer Woolworths would proceed with a takeover bid. Sky City was down 3c to $3.12.
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In the US on Friday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.4 per cent to 8852.22, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.62 per cent to 940.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.37 per cent to 1711.29.
For the week, the Dow rose 4.8 per cent, its best week in 5-1/2 years, while the S&P 500 had its best week since February with a gain of 4.6 per cent. The Nasdaq rose 4.1 per cent for its best week since early August.
- NZPA
