Telecom at four-month low, as shares slip early

File photo / Paul Estcourt

The New Zealand sharemarket was lower in early trading, with key stock Telecom dropping to its lowest level in nearly four months.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index fell 4.86 points to 3359.05, with Telecom down 3c to $2.06. On Friday the index ended the day down 4.4 points.

Stock exchange operator NZX gained 4c early to $1.65, after reporting an 18 per cent rise in normalised net profit to $11.7 million.

Nuplex lifted 4c to $3.35 after falling 8c on Friday, Mainfreight lifted 7c to $8.15 on low volume, Steel & Tube gained 5c to $2.64, and Fletcher Building was up 4c to $8.67, while Contact Energy was down 4c to $6.20.

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In the United States, stocks bounced from a three-day sell-off to rise on Friday, as oil prices stabilised, but unease over the Libyan rebellion could be enough to keep buying in check.

Friday's bounce followed a late recovery Thursday that showed buyers were ready to support shares after a bout of selling.

Analysts have been calling for a correction in stocks, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index up 25.8 per cent since the start of September. Much weaker-than-average volume on Friday cast doubt on stocks' ability to move higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.5 per cent to end at 12,130.45, the S&P 500 advanced 1.1 per cent to finish at 1319.88, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.6 per cent to close at 2781.05.

For the week, the Dow lost 2.1 per cent, the Nasdaq declined 1.9 per cent, and the S&P 500 lost 1.7 per cent .

- NZPA