NZ sharemarket lifts early

Thursday 24th March 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket lifted in early trading, with OceanaGold surging more than 5%, as safe-haven demand drove gold within a whisker of its all-time high.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 5.34 points to 3381.13, after gaining 10.6 points yesterday.

OceanaGold (NZX: OGC ) lifted 18c to $3.60, with spot gold prices having hit US$1440.90, near its recent record of US$1,444.40.

A political crisis in Portugal that could topple the government and force the country to seek a bailout added to ongoing concerns about continued unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mainfreight (NZX: MFT ) shares rose 7c early to $8.75, Steel & Tube (NZX: STU ) gained 6c to $2.60, Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ) lifted 3c to $8.88, and Telecom (NZX: TEL ) edged up 1c to $2.01. Ebos Group (NZX: EBO ) fell 5c to $7.45 and Sky City (NZX: SKC ) was down 2c to $3.33.

The market is waiting for gross domestic product data due at 10.45am to see whether the country was technically in recession in the second half of 2010.

In the US, stocks advanced as materials shares rose, but rising commodities prices due to turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa could keep rallies modest.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6% to 12,086.02, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.3% to 1297.54, and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5% to 2698.30.

NZPA

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