NZ sharemarket edges up early

The New Zealand sharemarket made small early gains as stocks in market leaders Telecom and Fletcher Building both edged up 1c amid a restrained start to the week.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 2.99 points to 2941.1, after gaining 4.3 points on Friday.

Tourism Holdings rose 3c to 78, while Telecom's small lift took it to $1.85 and Fletcher Building was at $7.67. Dual-listed bank Westpac rose 41c to $26.00.

Ebos Group fell 9c to $6.00, ANZ bank was down 5c to $25.50, Contact Energy dropped 2c to $5.71, Restaurant Brands fell 2c to $2.33, and Ryman Healthcare was down 2c to $1.97.

***

In the United States stocks fell on Friday to close out their worst week in two months as disappointing jobs data joined other recent evidence pointing to a tepid economic recovery.

Volume was among the five lightest days of the year, with many participants leaving early for the long July 4 holiday weekend.

Adding to stocks' weaker tone was a technical move that indicated more selling pressure may be ahead. The S&P 500's 50-day moving average broke below its 200-day moving average, a break known as the "death cross".

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.5 per cent to 9686.48, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.5 per cent to 1022.58, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5 per cent to 2091.79.

For the week, the Dow fell 4.5 per cent, the S&P lost 5 per cent and the Nasdaq shed 5.9 per cent.

- NZPA