The New Zealand sharemarket was little changed in early trading ahead of the unemployment report for the June quarter and after the United States sharemarket rose slightly.Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 0.922 points at 3037.212 after c
The New Zealand sharemarket was little changed in early trading ahead of the unemployment report for the June quarter and after the United States sharemarket rose slightly.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 0.922 points at 3037.212 after closing down 12.251 points yesterday.
Investors are focused on this morning's household labour force survey -- expected to show a rise in the unemployment rate to 6.4 percent in the June quarter after the rate plunged in the March quarter, seemingly at odds with the broader picture of a slow economic recovery.
Telecom was unchanged at 201 after Standard and Poor's reiterated the company's credit rating may be downgraded if it separates its network business.
Fletcher Building was unchanged at 757. Steel&Tube rose 4c to 229, Ebos rose 7c to 650, Rakon rose 1c to 650 and NZOG rose 1c to 123.
SkyCity fell 1c to 301 and Auckland Airport fell 1c to 198.
In the US, stocks rose in thin trade on Wednesday as retailers' earnings and a report showing a slight improvement in private employment boosted optimism ahead of Friday's payrolls report.
Priceline.com Inc soared 22 percent to $281.30 on its stronger-than-expected quarterly results and outlook.
While media conglomerate News Corp reported fourth-quarter profits that beat analyst expectations, reversing a loss from a year ago, as restructuring charges fell and it sold a Bulgarian TV station.
Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed the services sector grew at a faster pace than expected in July and Friday's government report on jobs is expected to show a drop of 65,000 in July as Census jobs dried up.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 44.05 points, or 0.41 percent, to 10,680.43. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index added 6.78 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1127.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 20.05 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2303.57.
With 80 percent of the S&P 500 companies having reported quarterly results, estimated and reported earnings growth stands at 37.3 percent for the previous quarter, up from an estimate of 27.4 percent a month ago, according to Thomson Reuter Proprietary Research.
