The New Zealand sharemarket had a solid start to the day after a strong overnight performance on world exchanges.About 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 11.66 points to 3243.48, having edged up a little under 1 point yesterday.Mainfreight lifted 4
The New Zealand sharemarket had a solid start to the day after a strong overnight performance on world exchanges.
About 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 11.66 points to 3243.48, having edged up a little under 1 point yesterday.
Mainfreight lifted 4c early to 699, Contact Energy added 4c to 570, Telecom was up 3c to 205, Cavalier Corp gained 3c to 300 and Fletcher Building lifted 2c to 821.
In the United States, stock indexes hit their highest in five months as stronger-than-expected earnings and lingering US dollar weakness increased demand for equities.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7 percent to 11,096.08, the Standard&Poor's 500 added 0.7 percent to 1178.10, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1 percent to 2441.23.
The S&P 500 broke a key short term technical resistance level when it moved above 1173.57, the highest point it has hit since the market's "flash crash" on May 6.
About 9.1 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq -- the highest day for volume since July 16, and above the year's average so far of about 8.77 billion.
MSCI's benchmark All-Country World equity index rose 1.3 percent on the day to hit its highest level since mid-April.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.4 percent to close at a three-week high.
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