Sharemarket positive in early morning trade

The New Zealand sharemarket followed offshore leads in opening trading this morning, gaining a little on yesterday's slide.

The benchmark NZX-50 index, which closed yesterday at 3142.862, today gained 9.555 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 3152.417 by 10.15am.

Telecom was most heavily traded, up 1c to $2.62, while Fletcher Building was up 4c to $8.45.

New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay gained 1c to 45, NZ Refining was up 9c to $4.80 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare increased 4c to $3.20.

SkyCity was up 3c to $3.16 and Sky Television rose 3c to $4.61.

Air NZ was unchanged at $1.20 and Fisher & Paykel Appliances were also unchanged at 76.

Stocks losing ground were Tourism Holdings, down 1c to 71, Kiwi Income Property Trust was down 1c to $1.06 and Contact Energy, down 3c to $5.78.

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Yesterday the Australian share market closed moderately lower, led by the materials sector and as investors acted cautiously.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 13.7 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 4663.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 13 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 4671.1 points.

In the United States stocks rose as investors bet the US Federal Reserve would stick to its accommodative policy to foster economic recovery, boosting growth-sensitive sectors such as financials, technology and industrials.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 51.01 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 9829.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 7.00 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 1071.66 -- a fresh 11-month closing high. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 8.26 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,146.30.

The S&P 500 has risen 58.4 per cent since hitting a 12-year closing low on March 9.

- NZPA