Fletcher Building shares pulled further away from three-month lows when the New Zealand stock exchange opened today, leading the market to a small early gain.

After falling as low as 755 on Monday, the lowest point since early September, Fletcher Building shares gained 5c yesterday and were up 13c to 778 early today.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 2.86 points to 3119.97, having yesterday gained 18.3 points.

Other top early performers in the first few minutes of trading included NZ Refining Co up 10c to 410, The Warehouse up 4c to 406, and Tower up 3c to 192.

Restaurant Brands shares gained 1c early to 161 after reporting a 4.7 percent increase in third quarter sales to $72.9 million, led by strong growth from its KFC operation.

Shares dropping early included Steel&Tube, down 4c to 273, NZX down 5c to 875, Fisher&Paykel Healthcare down 2c to 331, Hallenstein Glasson down 2c to 311, Infratil down 2c to 162, and Ryman Healthcare down 2c to 204.

In the United States, stocks fell halting a four-day winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500, as investors fretted about the outlook for interest rates following a sharper-than-expected increase in the November producer price index.

General Electric Co's outlook for flat 2010 profit and revenue dampened recent optimism about the US economy's prospects.

The GE news hit a market bracing for the US Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.

The Dow fell 0.5 percent to end unofficially at 10,452.00, the Standard&Poor's 500 Index slid 0.6 percent to finish unofficially at 1107.93, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.5 percent to close unofficially at 2201.05.