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The New Zealand sharemarket had a solid start to the week, as lawmakers in the United States closed in on a US$700 billion ($1.03 trillion) rescue of the ailing financial industry.
Telecom was up 2c early to 275, after losing 6c on Friday, while Fletcher Building slipped a further 11c to 710 on top of its 14c Friday loss. Contact Energy was up 6c to 847, partly reversing its 10c loss on Friday.
PGG Wrightson rose 2c to 185, having fallen 27c on Friday after getting a difficult capital raising away at the low price of 180 a share.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 20.03 points to 3207.62, having fallen 50.1 points on Friday.
Medical supplies company Ebos rose 18c to 458 on small volume, while Guinness Peat Group was up 2c to 125.
Michael Hill International gained 3c on small volume to 79, and Pike River Coal was up 2c early to 154, while dual-listed ANZ Banking Group gained 120c to 2270.
No shares in Steel & Tube Holdings changed hands early after the announcement Australia's OneSteel was offering $4 a share for slightly under half the company it does not already own. Steel & Tube shares closed at 300 on Friday.
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In the US, congressional leaders and the White House agreed to a US$700b rescue of the ailing financial industry after lawmakers insisted on sharing spending controls with the Bush administration.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson predicted the deal would come to a vote in the House of Representatives on Monday (local time). Final congressional action might not come until Wednesday.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.10 per cent at 11,143.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.34 per cent at 1213.27, but the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.15 per cent at 2183.34.
- NZPA
