NZ sharemarket flat early

File photo / Kenny Rodger

DNZ Property Fund listed on the NZX main board today at 99c, slightly up on the 97c a share offer price set by a bookbuild process.

Welcoming DNZ, NZX chief executive Mark Weldon said the listing of a company of DNZ's nature and scale was significant for New Zealand markets and investors.

"It is a New Zealand infrastructure company that will enable New Zealanders to gain access to a well diversified property portfolio on the NZX Main Board," said Weldon.

DNZ owned one of this country's largest diversified investment property portfolios in the commercial, industrial and retail sectors.

Pyne Gould Corp shares were up 2c to 43 early after the company lifted its full year net profit forecast about 5 per cent to $22 million.

The market as a whole was flat in early trading to start the week, with the benchmark NZX-50 index up 1.7 points to 3016.83 around 10.10am, having gained 8.2 points on Friday.

Contact Energy fell 2c early to $5.78 and Restaurant Brands was down 2c to $2.49, while Cavalier Corp gained 3c to $2.62.

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In the United States, stocks slumped toward the close on Friday as economic data gave little reason to reverse a string of sell-offs. In a thinly traded session, indexes posted their fourth day of losses.

US retail sales rebounded last month, as did the overall July consumer price index, but the data was consistent with an economy that has slowed in recent months.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.2 per cent to 10,303.15, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.4 per cent to 1079.25, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.8 per cent to 2173.48.

For the week, the Dow fell 3.3 per cent, while the S&P slid 3.8 per cent and the Nasdaq lost 5 per cent.

- NZPA