NZX opens week firmly

The New Zealand sharemarket started the week firmly, with solid early rises recorded by leading stocks Contact Energy and Fletcher Building, while stock exchange operator NZX surged forward.

Around 10.15am, the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 11.2 points to 3157.66, having lost 7.5 points on Friday.

Contact was up 5c early to $5.90, while Fletcher gained 6c to $7.87, and NZX was up 11c or 1.4 per cent to $8.01.

Port of Tauranga gained 7c to $7.12 on low volume, Sky TV was up 2c to $4.70, Goodman Property Trust lifted 2c to $1.05, and Freightways was up 2c to $3.17. Telecom gained 1c to $2.42, after falling 6c on Friday.

Among stocks falling early, NZ Refining Co was down 3c to $4.12, and Ryman Healthcare fell 3c to $2.05.

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In the United States, stocks advanced on Friday as data showed the economy shed far fewer jobs than expected last month, brightening the outlook for the economy and profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2 per cent to end at 10,388.90, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.6 per cent to finish at 1105.98, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1 per cent to close at 2194.35.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.8 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.3 per cent and the Nasdaq advanced 2.6 per cent.

- NZPA