KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket rose slightly in early trading today but the rise was tentative following a volatile session on Wall Street.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index, which this week fell below 4000 for the first time since late August, was up 2.2 points to 4003.6 at 10.25am.
Market leader Telecom, which fell 8c yesterday, dropped another 1c to 435 today.
Turnover in Telecom comprised $18 million of the total market trading of $23m. Rises matched falls at 13 among the 53 stocks traded.
Fletcher Building fell 1c to 1115, and Contact Energy was up anther 4c to the 838 to add to yesterday's 15c gain.
Auckland Airport gained 6c to 286 after the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board formally lodged its partial takeover today.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 6c to 340 while TrustPower was down 6c to 829, Steel & Tube was down 4c to 346 and Tower was down 5c to 218.
This week's debutant, Diligent Board Member Services, continued to track down, losing 2c to 85c. Founder and chief executive Brian Henry resigned yesterday because of non-disclosure of his and his brother's past.
On Wall Street, stocks rose today in volatile trade as a robust retail sales report helped offset worries about the US banking and credit markets and a strong jump in a key inflation gauge.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 44.38 points or 0.33 per cent at a preliminary close of 13,518.28.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite ended down 2.65 points or 0.10 per cent at 2668.49 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.86 points or 0.13 per cent to 1488.45, based on preliminary closing numbers.
- NZPA
