NZ sharemarket stronger

The New Zealand sharemarket opened lower, but quickly rose this morning despite ongoing worries over European sovereign debt.

At around 10am, the benchmark NZX-50 index opened down 3.264 points, but shortly after went up 5.238 points, or 0.165 per cent, to 3175.982.

Infratil was 2c down to $1.66 despite reporting a 1.8 per cent increase in pre-tax earnings this morning.

Fletcher Building led the way, up 9c to $8.25, while Contact Energy acted as a counter weight on the index, shedding 5c to $6.12.

Telecom rose 3c to $2.10 as the Commerce Commission published new information disclosure requirements Telecom must follow.

The Warehouse rose 2c to $3.59, Tourism Holdings was up 2c to 90, Mainfreight rose 2c to $6.30, and Pike River Coal was up 1c to $1.06.

Port of Tauranga rose 4c to $6.85 and Westpac was up 3c to $30.15, while TrustPower dropped 4c to $7.21.

Sky City fell 1c to $3.00 and SkyTV fell 1c to $4.78.

Economists predict the New Zealand Government budget on Thursday would show improving deficits and economic forecasts and provide a contrast to awful fiscal situations in other countries, but European fiscal problems continue to be a source of extreme volatility for markets.

Property companies were waiting to see if the Government changes depreciation allowances for buildings.

This morning Goodman Property Trust was unchanged at 96, and Kiwi Income Property Trust fell 1c to 96 and ING Property Trust also eased 1c to 75.

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In the United States, stocks staged a comeback in late trading on Monday, setting aside concerns that efforts to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis could stifle the global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 5.67 points, or 0.05 per cent, to end at 10,625.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.26 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 1136.94.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7.38 points, or 0.31 per cent, to close at 2354.23.

- NZPA