NZ sharemarket flat early

Monday 14th February 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trading as the reporting season continued with Freightways announcing a 9% rise in half year net profit, with a strong second quarter.

Around 10.20am, the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 0.89 points to 3368.33, having edged up 1.6 points on Friday when Telecom lost 3c after reporting tax and regulatory changes had knocked its bottom line.

No trade in Freightways shares was recorded in the first minutes of trading this week, with the stock having closed at $3.20 on Friday.

Mainfreight (NZX: MFT ) gained 3c early today, Xero (NZX: XRO ) gained 5c to $2.65, and Telecom (NZX: TEL ) edged up 1c to $2.17, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZX: FPH ) was down 2c to $3.06, Abano Healthcare (NZX: ABA ) lost 4c to $4.71, and Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ) eased down 1c to $8.15.

In the US, stocks closed out their second straight week of gains on Friday (local time) with a rally sparked after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned, easing tension around the region for now.

Financials led on the back of the reduced uncertainty, rising throughout the trading day.

The Dow Jones industrial gained 0.4% at 12,273.26, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.6% at 1329.15, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.7% at 2809.44.

For the week, the Dow was up 1.5% and both the S&P and Nasdaq were up 1.4%.

NZPA

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