Modest gains for NZ shares

The New Zealand sharemarket made a modest gain in early trading as investors continued to show interest in Fletcher Building shares.

The benchmark NZX-50 index is up 2.8 points to 3094, after gaining 16.9 points yesterday.

Fletcher Building shares gained 11c to $7.80 early, on top of an 11c rise yesterday when about $44 million worth of the company's shares were traded amid growing reports of vigour returning to the property market.

Shares in dual-listed Telstra gained 8c early, while NZ Farming Systems Uruguay added 3c to 51, Nuplex was up 2c to $2.35, Hellaby Holdings lifted 2c to $1.42, and Guinness Peat Group was up 2c to 84.

Among stocks falling early, Telecom gave up 3c to $2.77 and Sky City fell 2c to $3.26. Port of Tauranga was down 10c to $6.40 in light trade.

***

In the United States, investors moved back into stocks after a four-day slide as they awaited a key US government report on unemployment due tonight.

Sales reports from US retailers revealed that while some consumers are starting to open their wallets, most remain focused on necessities.

Trading in the US has been jittery in the past two weeks because some investors who have placed big bets on a recovery are worried that the economy will have trouble pulling out of the longest recession since World War 2.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.7 per cent to 9344.61, the S&P 500 index rose 0.9 per cent to 1003.24, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.8 per cent to 1983.20.

- NZPA