KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket benchmark index pulled back a few points in early trading today from its record high close yesterday.
The NZSX-50 index was off 6.711 points on 3857.00 at 10.15am after rising 22.52 points to 3863.71 yesterday.
Top stock Telecom lost 5c of yesterday's 7c gain to be on 454 while No 2 stock, Fletcher Building, held onto its 14c gain to sit on 1014 -- 6c below its record high this month.
Mainfreight rose 5c to a record high of 815.
Restaurant Brands, which had a bumpy ride yesterday, hitting an eight-month low of 91c and then jumping 12c to 104, rose another 5c to 109.
The company is seen as ripe for takeover after its surprisingly fast retreat from its disappointing Australian Pizza Hut stores.
It held an analysts' briefing in Australia yesterday and said it had received expressions of interest from several parties.
Tower fell another 1c to 209. It fell 3c yesterday after announcing a 55 per cent rise in underlying annual profit but no dividend.
In the US, stocks ended slightly after data showing a surprising drop in Midwest business activity and a disappointing outlook by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed unofficially down 2.32 on 12,224. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 0.46 on 2432.
- NZPA
