KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket started the day firmly, with Fletcher Building gaining 10c early as it continues to climb away from last month's lows.
Shortly after the market opened, Fletcher was at 740, after having briefly dropped below $6 six weeks ago. Yesterday it added 3c.
Around 10.10am top stock Telecom was up 1c to 327, as the benchmark NZSX-50 index lifted 9.98 points to 3334.78, having yesterday added 6.3 points.
NZ Oil & Gas gained 1c early to 163, after reporting a surge in full year net profit to $97.2 million on the back of production from the Tui oilfields off the Taranaki coast.
Investment company Hellaby Holdings was up 4c to 180, after yesterday reporting a $4.7m annual profit compared with a deficit of $9.8m last year.
Other stocks to rise early included Contact Energy, up 7c to 842, Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 2c to 178, Mainfreight up 3c to 725, Vector up 3c to 232, Pyne Gould Corporation up 3c to 348, and The Warehouse up 6c to 338.
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In the US, stocks rose sharply as new figures showed the US economy grew at a surprisingly robust clip in the second quarter and oil prices eased, driving gains in major industrial and financial companies.
The government said strong export growth and consumer spending helped US gross domestic product expand at a 3.3 per cent annual rate between April and June, above an initial estimate of 1.9 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 1.85 per cent at 11,715.18. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed up 1.48 per cent at 1300.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 1.22 per cent at 2411.64.
- NZPA
