Shares open with modest gains

After strong advances on the first two days of the week, the New Zealand sharemarket was gaining more gently in early trade today.

While top stock Telecom was down 2c early to $2.84, other leading stocks were helping push the market higher, with Fletcher Building up 7c to $7.58 and Contact Energy up 7c to $6.61.

The benchmark NZX-50 index is up 13 points to 3106, having started the week around the 3015 level.

Among stocks rising early Ebos Group gained 5c to $5.40, NZ Farming Systems Uruguay was up 3c to 53, Tourism Holdings was up 2c to 60, and Ryman Healthcare lifted 2c to $1.80.

Clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson was unchanged on $2.85, after it reported second half sales rose 7.6 per cent, but said aggressive pricing meant sales had been at the expense of margin.

Stocks losing ground early included Trustpower down 2c to $7.78, and NZ Refining down 2c to $6.95, while dual-listed banks Westpac and ANZ were both down 10c - Westpac to $28.00 and ANZ to $24.70.

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In the United States, stocks edged higher, led by the financial sector as economic data pointed to a sustained if slow recovery from the recession.

US consumers spent more in June, though partly because of rising petrol prices, and contracts to buy used houses rose more than expected. But income suffered its biggest drop in 4-1/2 years, underscoring fears over growing unemployment.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4 per cent to close at 9320.19, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.3 per cent to 1005.65, and the Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.1 per cent to end at 2011.31.

- NZPA