NZ sharemarket flat in early trading

By NZPA

Friday 16th March 2007

Calm has been restored to world equity markets including the New Zealand market, which was flat in early business today.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 0.5 of a point at 4054.64 at 10.15am.

Market leader Telecom was up 4c to $4.69 after being sold down earlier in the week when executives warned at briefings in Australia that the cost of complying with new regulations would be higher than many people thought.

Contact Energy was down 3c to $9.10 while Fletcher Building was down 1c to $10.80.

Tower was up 3c to $2.28 after yet more rumours of a takeover. Australian fund Paradice Cooper has revealed itself on Tower's register with more than 8%.

Sanford was down 4c at $5.06 while Hallenstein Glasson was up 4c at $5.05.

On Wall Street, US stocks rose after healthy earnings from Bear Stearns eased concerns about the subprime problems spreading to other companies and the wider economy.

A spate of mergers, including a surprise offer by the electronic energy marketplace IntercontinentalExchange for CBOT Holdings Inc, the parent of the Chicago Board of Trade, also fed optimism.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.28 points, or 0.22%, to 12,159.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 5.11 points, or 0.37%, to 1392.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 6.96 points, or 0.29%, to 2378.70.

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