KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket was down in early trading today, even as US stocks held on to modest gains.
Around 10.30am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 16.84 points to 3556.09, having lost 39.47 points yesterday.
SkyCity was down 11c early to 406 after announcing it intended to write down the value of its cinema exhibition business by an expected $60 million.
Top stock Telecom slipped 4c early to 391, having yesterday hit a fresh 14-1/2 year low of 390 after reporting a 25 per cent drop in second-quarter profit on Friday.
Also down early were Steel & Tube, shedding 14c to 365 on small volume, Trustpower 7c to 755, and Nuplex 4c to 545.
Stocks to rise early included Contact Energy, up 5c to 770 after losing 14c yesterday, and Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 3c to 290, both on small trades.
Mainfreight rose 1c to 580, while Fletcher Building eased 3c to 916 after ending down 33c yesterday during a day in which it touched a 15-month low of 912.
Freightways was down 5c to 310, on top of a 4c fall yesterday after reporting that costs had eaten into its 12 per cent rise in half year revenue, leaving after-tax net profit up just 2 per cent.
US stocks ended higher, rebounding from last week's losses, as bargain-hunting and takeover talk sparked gains in the technology sector and a jump in oil prices lifted energy shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.48 per cent to unofficially end at 12,240.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.59 per cent at 1339.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.66 per cent, at 2320.06.
- NZPA
