NZ sharemarket lower early
The New Zealand sharemarket was down in early trading as assessment continues of the impact of Tuesday's disastrous earthquake in Christchurch and world markets nervously watch turmoil in Libya.
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The New Zealand sharemarket was down in early trading as assessment continues of the impact of Tuesday's disastrous earthquake in Christchurch and world markets nervously watch turmoil in Libya.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 5.86 points to 3362.49, having yesterday dropped 3.7 points.
Key stock Telecom slipped 1c early to a 10-week low 210, while Fletcher Building was down 3c to 855 after announcing the Commerce Commission had cleared its offer for Crane Group.
Fishing company Sanford fell 9c early to 497, Contact Energy lost 3c to 620, Ebos Group was down 2c to 738, Nuplex dropped 2c to 337, and Port of Tauranga lost 2c to 783.
Retailer The Warehouse gained 3c to 348, Restaurant Brands added 2c to 245, and Air New Zealand was up 2c to 134.
In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard&Poor's 500 closed down but well off the day's lows in a volatile session, suggesting investors aren't ready to give up on the market's rally.
The S&P 500 opened lower on deepening concerns that higher oil could stifle economic activity. Stocks hit their worst levels when Brent crude neared $US120 a barrel on Libya's turmoil, but a drop in oil prices prompted a corresponding recovery in stocks.
Based on preliminary data, the Dow was down 0.3 percent to end unofficially at 12,068.50, the S&P 500 was down 0.1 percent to 1306.10, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.6 percent to 2737.90.
NZPA
Fri, 25 Feb 2011
Fri, 25 Feb 2011
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NZ sharemarket lower early
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