The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trading after Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard surprised no one by leaving the official cash rate unchanged at 3 percent.Explaining his decision, Dr Bollard highlighted recent economic data that was weaker t
The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trading after Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard surprised no one by leaving the official cash rate unchanged at 3 percent.
Explaining his decision, Dr Bollard highlighted recent economic data that was weaker than expected, while pointing to support coming from continued high export prices, and reconstruction after the Canterbury earthquake.
Among subdued early trading, heavyweight stock Fletcher Building initially gained 3c to 805 -- partly reversing yesterday's 6c fall -- but within about 10 minutes of the market opening the stock was up just 1c, to 803.
Telecom gained 2c early to 206, after falling 3c yesterday, while Contact Energy was unchanged on 587.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 0.47 percent to 3279.87, having yesterday fallen 5.1 points.
Nuplex added 2c early to 336, and NZX gained 2c to 158 having reported higher third quarter earnings after the market closed yesterday.
Fisher&Paykel Healthcare fell 4c to 315, Tower lost 2c to 186, The Warehouse was down 2c to 402, and Pike River Coal fell 2c to 103.
In the United States, stocks fell as investors dialed back expectations of how aggressively the Federal Reserve will act to stimulate the economy.
With the uncertain outcomes of US mid-term elections and a Fed meeting next week, traders positioned themselves for more volatile markets.
Materials stocks, which have rallied in recent weeks on expectations of heavy stimulus, were the day's biggest decliners.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.4 percent to 11,126.28, and the Standard&Poor's 500 Index lost 0.3 percent to 1182.45, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to 2503.26.
The Nasdaq advanced as Broadcom Inc jumped 11.7 percent to $US41.56, a day after it unexpectedly forecast a potential rise in fourth-quarter revenue.
