NZ shares up early after yesterday's surge

Friday 1st July 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket continued to rise in early trading after strong gains yesterday as investors took heart from Greece's approval of final austerity measures needed to secure international funding and avert imminent bankruptcy.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 10.6 points to 3458.95, having yesterday risen 33.4 points.

Continuing gains by share prices in this country came after world stocks rose to a one-month high, boosted by the Greek developments and an unexpected jump in business activity in the US Midwest which eased recent fears of an economic slowdown.

In early trading Freightways rose 4c to 324, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 4c to 280, The Warehouse gained 3c to 350, Sky TV lifted 3c to 559, Sky City added 3c to 365, Fletcher Building was up 3c to 865, Contact Energy lifted 2c to 538, and Telecom gained 1c to 246.5.

In the US stocks ended a volatile quarter with their biggest four-day rally since September.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.3 percent at 12,414.34, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1 percent at 1320.64, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.2 percent at 2773.52.

Part of the rally came from end-of-quarter window dressing by fund managers, who typically sell losers and buy winners to make their portfolios look better.

The Federal Reserve ended its $US600 billion bond-buying program, known as QE2, and has not offered any hints of more monetary easing. Markets were volatile in May and June, partly on concerns about QE2's end.

NZPA

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