Sharemarket makes modest early gains

Friday 15th April 2011

Fletcher Building shares regained some of the ground they lost in recent days, as the New Zealand sharemarket rose in early trade.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 2.2 points to 3456.68, having slipped 3.1 points yesterday.

Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ) lifted 6c early, but within a short time of the market open the gain eased to 4c, taking the share price to $9.23. The company's stock price has fallen back from a three-year high of $9.53 early this week.

OceanaGold (NZX: OGC ) shares were up 6c to $3.76, and The Warehouse (NZX: WHS ) gained 3c to $3.50, while Sky TV (NZX: SKC ) fell 7c to $5.76, Mainfreight (NZX: MFT ) dropped 3c to $9.30, Freightways (NZX: FRE ) was down 2c to $3.32, and Ryman Healthcare (NZX: RYM ) dropped 2c to $2.48.

In the US, concerns about faltering growth and inflation prompted investors to seek out less volatile companies, with Coca-Cola Co up 1.5%, Kraft Foods up 1.7% and Merck & Co up 1.2%.

Energy shares rallied as US crude oil futures gained more than 1% to trade above US$108 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1% to end at 12,285.15, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.01% to 1314.52, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1% to 2760.22.

NZPA

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