NZ shares up early

Shares in Steel & Tube rose in early trading to be equal with yesterday's intraday two-month high, as the New Zealand sharemarket edged higher shortly after opening today.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 2.9 points to 3279.1, having yesterday fallen 14.1 points in line with equity markets around the world after China said it would raise banks' reserve requirements.

The index has fallen on each of the past three days, after reaching a 15-month high last Friday.

Steel & Tube started to climb in mid-December, and during the day yesterday reached $3.00 before closing at $2.96. Early today its shares were back up 4c to $3.00, a gain of about 1.4 per cent.

Other shares rising early today included Sky City, up 4c to $3.37, Sky TV up 2c to $5.17, and Kiwi Income Property Trust up 2c to $1.05.

Ebos Group lost 9c to $5.91, but on low volume, Port of Tauranga was down 5c to $7.10, NZX fell 5c to $2.27, and Hellaby Holdings was down 2c to $1.68.

Among leading shares Telecom edged up 1c to $2.53, Fletcher Building was unchanged on $8.45, and Contact Energy slipped 1c to $6.31.

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In the United States, the stock market closed higher, following the lead of financial stocks as the heads of several big banks testified before Congress about the financial crisis.

Stocks fluctuated early in the day but strengthened as the questioning of bank officials proceeded with little in the way of confrontation.

Industries seen as safer in a weak economy, such as health care and utilities, posted some of the biggest gains.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5 per cent to 10,680.77, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.8 per cent to 1145.68, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.1 per cent to 2307.90.

- NZPA