NZ sharemarket starts week firmly
The New Zealand sharemarket started the week firmly, after volatility on world markets eased although remaining high.
The New Zealand sharemarket started the week firmly, after volatility on world markets eased although remaining high.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 7.88 points to 3347.39, after gaining 9.9 points on Friday.
Among key shares, Telecom gained 3c early to 201, and Contact Energy was up 3c to 578, while Fletcher Building fell 6c to 870 reversing most of Friday's 8c gain.
OceanaGold was up 4c to 338, Sanford added 4c to 500, Nuplex gained 4c to 310, Vector lifted 3c to 238, and Abano Healthcare was up 3c to 435.
In the United States, stocks gained after a week of heightened volatility on Friday, but investors were reluctant to make big bets due to turmoil in the Middle East and Japan's nuclear crisis.
The Chicago Board options exchange volatility index fell 6.4 percent on Friday (local time) but was still up 23 percent on the week.
Bank shares jumped as the Federal Reserve announced it will allow some US banks to boost or restart dividend payments, while the Bank of Japan bought billions of dollars to restrain a soaring yen and was followed by US and European central bank purchases.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.7 percent at 11,858.52, the Standard&Poor's 500 Index was up 0.4 percent at 1279.21, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3 percent at 2643.67.
The Dow fell 1.5 percent in the week while the S&P was off 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq, in its fourth straight down week, sank 2.6 percent.
NZPA
Mon, 21 Mar 2011
Mon, 21 Mar 2011
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NZ sharemarket starts week firmly
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