The New Zealand sharemarket rose modestly in early trading today, with the benchmark NZX-50 index apparently restrained under the level needed to reach a five-month high.Around 10.15am the index was up 2.24 points to 3237.28, having gained 16.7 points yes
The New Zealand sharemarket rose modestly in early trading today, with the benchmark NZX-50 index apparently restrained under the level needed to reach a five-month high.
Around 10.15am the index was up 2.24 points to 3237.28, having gained 16.7 points yesterday. Several times in the past few weeks the index has pushed towards, but failed to overtake, the intraday high near 3253 points, reached on September 21 -- the highest level since early May.
In early trading today Contact Energy rose as much as 7c to 579, Hallenstein Glasson was up 5c to 430, Port of Tauranga gained 3c to 703, and Freightways lifted 2c to 301.
Fletcher Building slipped 2c to 805 and Telecom slipped 1c to 204.
In the United States, stocks dipped after a disappointing report on the jobs market renewed concern about the economy. Treasury yields sank to new lows as investors sought safety and anticipated more stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.
Payroll company ADP said private employers cut jobs in September for the first time in seven months. Investors are seeing a silver lining in the news, however, hoping that it could help push the Federal Reserve to take more action to get the US economy going next month, including stepping up its purchases of bonds.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2 percent to close at 10,967.65, the Standard&Poor's 500 fell 0.1 percent to 1159.97, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.8 percent to 2380.66.
