NZ sharemarket lifts early

The New Zealand sharemarket edged to its lowest level in a month in early trading but quickly rebounded on the back of modest gains in key stocks such as Telecom, which was up 2c.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 5.67 points to 3511.28, after ending down 10 points yesterday, and edging under 3504.5 at one point in the first few minutes of trading today.

Telecom shares were up 0.9 percent to 232, Ebos Group added 4c to 719, Hallenstein Glasson gained 2c to 380, Freightways was up 2c to 337, Sky TV edged up 1c to 568, with Sky City also up 1c, to 361.

Mainfreight lost 2c to 980, and Port of Tauranga fell 4c to 880.

Contact Energy shares were put in a trading halt before the market opened as the company completes a bookbuild for the remaining shares not taken up under a recent entitlement offer.

In the United States, stocks extended a losing streak for a fifth day on mounting concerns about the economy after bearish comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

The market, which started off on a positive note after the S&P 500 hit a two-month low in the previous session, reversed course to turn negative after Mr Bernanke started speaking.

He acknowledged a slowdown in the economy, but offered no suggestion the central bank is considering any further monetary stimulus to support growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.2 percent to end at 12,070.81, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 0.1 percent to 1284.94, and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.04 percent to finish at 2701.56.

- NZPA