NZ sharemarket flat early

NZPA

Tuesday 26th July 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trading with little movement in key leading stocks.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 0.13 points to 3428.29, after losing 21.1 points yesterday.

Among key stocks, Telecom was unchanged on 264 after yesterday reaching a 22-month high 269 in intraday trading. Fletcher Building was unchanged on 824, while Contact Energy slipped 1c to 528.

Ebos Group fell 5c to 682, Mainfreight was down 2c to 1013, and Hallenstein Glasson dropped 2c to 351, while Xero gained 3c to 245, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lifted 3c to 250, Kathmandu was up 2c to 220, and Infratil added 2c to 182.

In the United States, stocks dipped as lawmakers remained in a standoff over raising the debt ceiling to avoid default, but investors were convinced a compromise will be reached before next week's critical deadline.

Trading volume was light, even for a seasonally quiet period, suggesting investors were holding to the sidelines. In another sign of negative sentiment, declining stocks far outpaced advancers despite the day's moderate declines.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.7 percent at 12,592.80, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.6 percent at 1337.43, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.6 percent at 2842.80.

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