Fletcher Building's share price recovered half of yesterday's loss in early trade, as the New Zealand sharemarket managed a respectable start to the day.
Fletcher shares gained 8c, or 1.25 percent, early to 650, having fallen 16c yesterday after it was reported that Australian building approvals fell 12.5 percent in May and 22.4 percent in the year.
Among other leading shares, Telecom was up 1c early in early trade today to 274, while Contact Energy lost 2c to 578, adding to yesterday's 5c fall.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 Index was up 9.06 points to 2789.43, after closing down 15.7 points yesterday as it reflected weakness in offshore markets.
Other shares rising early included TrustPower, up 5c to 770, Delegats Group up 4c to 209, Scott Technology up 4c to 85, Nuplex up 3c to 153, and The Warehouse up 2c to 377. Dual-listed ANZ lifted 27c to 2055 and Lion Nathan gained 23c to 1465.
Shares declining early included Tower, down 4c to 169.
In the United States stocks rose at the start of the third quarter, as reassuring manufacturing data from China, Europe and the US reinforced hopes that the world's economy is on the road to recovery.
A day after the benchmark S&P 500 wrapped up its best quarter in a decade, investors ploughed new money into stocks, boosting growth-sensitive sectors like energy, industrials, technology, materials and consumer discretionaries.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 percent to 8504.06, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.4 percent to 923.33, and the Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 0.6 percent to 1845.72.