Asia Pacific sharemarkets should chalk up solid gains today, after US and European equities surged on the back of the eurozone's commitment to use its rescue funds to support ailing banks and sovereign bonds.

While implementation risk on the euro promises remains high, the news was seen as the first step towards closing the monetary unity and fiscal independence gap many economists see as the core of the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis.

That should feed into New Zealand shares today, having bucked the trend on Friday by closing in the red while regional peers chalked up notable gains. Still, on a quarterly basis, the NZX50 Index is still up about 3 per cent.

Dataflows in New Zealand are light, but regionally HSBC's China Performance of Manufacturing Index data is out today. In Australia, PMI, housing price and inflation indicator data are due.

Stocks to watch:
Fletcher Building had sold its metals distribution businesses, Austral Wright Metals and Mico Metals, to AW Distribution and Wakefield Metals, respectively. It is estimated the sale will rake in $70 million. FBU shares closed at $5.87 on Friday.

Telecom today announced that former chief executive Paul Reynolds will take home a "termination payment" of $1.75 million. The announcement was made after company came under pressure from the New Zealand Shareholders' Association to disclose the details of the golden handshake. TEL shares closed at $2.39 on Friday.

Equity markets
Australia and New Zealand
NZX 50: -0.4 per cent to 3399.83
S&P/ASX 200: +1.22 per cent to 4094.6  

US
Dow: +2.2 per cent to 12,880.10
S&P 500: +2.49 per cent to 1362.16
Nasdaq: +3 per cent to 2935.05

Europe
FTSE 100: +1.46 per cent to 5571.15
Dax: +1.42 per cent to 6416.28
Stoxx 600: +2.66 per cent to 251.17

Asia
Nikkei: +1.5 per cent to 9006.78
Hang Seng: +2.19 per cent to 19,441.50

Currency
The New Zealand dollar recently traded at US80.09 cents, up from US79.45c at 5pm on Friday.

Commodities
Gold: US$1596.99 an ounce, from US$1551.80 on Friday
ICE Brent Crude: US$94.31 a barrel, from US$92.00 on Friday
Thompson Reuters Jefferies CRB: +4.55 per cent to  284.19

- © Fairfax NZ News