NZ sharemarket falls early

NZPA

Wednesday 6th April 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket fell in early trading as Fletcher Building pulled back after hitting a three-year high during trading yesterday.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 6.71 points to 3462.67, having risen for the 15 consecutive trading days and yesterday reaching a 31-month intraday high around 3472 points before ending the day up 9.9 points.

Fletcher Building, which rose to $9.42 yesterday and ended at $9.41 was down 5c early to $9.36.

The company has been on the rise with the $1.3 billion deal to buy Australia's Crane Group, transforming it into the largest building materials business in this country and Australia.

The stock's inclusion in the S&P/ASX 200 Index last month has also attracted more heavy-weight investors.

Ebos Group shares fell 15c early to $7.50, and The Warehouse dropped 10c to $3.45, both on moderate volume.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 5c to $3.14, Sky City dropped 2c to $3.45, Steel & Tube lost 2c to $2.75, Contact Energy fell 1c to $5.78, and Telecom eased 0.5c to $2.05.

In the United States, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index failed to break a key technical resistance level for a second day as low trading volume raised further questions about the market's strength.

The broader market index closed slightly below 1333, a closely watched level as it represents a doubling from the low reached in March 2009.

"The (low) volume is a sign that there is little conviction from sellers in this market," said Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist for LPL Financial in Boston.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.1 percent to end at 12,393.90, the S&P index inched down just 0.02 percent to 1332.63, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to 2791.19.

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