Freightways highlight as sharemarket starts flat

Tuesday 15th February 2011

Freightways' shares pushed to a one-year high with a strong early gain, following a good showing yesterday after the company reported firm second quarter growth.

On top of the 7c gain yesterday, shares in Freightways (NZX: FRE ) added a further 9c early today, taking them to $3.36.

The stock's performance was the highlight of early trading in a largely flat market, with the benchmark NZX-50 index up just 0.91 points to 3384.38 around 10.15am, having gained 16 points yesterday.

Sky TV (NZX: SKT ) shares gained 5c early today to $5.40, but on limited volume, while NZ Refining Co (NZX: NZR ) lifted 3c to $5.18m and Telecom (NZX: TEL ) added 2c to $2.23.

Stocks dragging on the market early included fishing company Sanford (NZX: SAN ), which lost 5c to $4.98, Cavalier Corp (NZX: CAV ) down 4c to $3.20, Contact Energy (NZX: CEN ) down 4c to $6.20, and Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ) down 1c to $8.24.

In the US, stocks ended little changed in the lowest volume so far this year, indicating the equity rally may be near its peak.

According to preliminary figures, the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.04% to 12,268.19, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.2% to 1332.32, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3% to 2817.18.

NZPA

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