NZ sharemarket starts week flat

The New Zealand sharemarket started the week flat, as Treasury figures showed the Government collected $1.1 billion, or 6.3 per cent, less tax than forecast in the four months to the end of October.

The results were consistent with the general picture in the first three months of the financial year, Treasury said.

Around 10.15am, the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 0.2 points to 3283.1, after ending last week with a 2.2-point fall on Friday.

Port of Tauranga dropped 6c to 739 early today, Ebos Group fell 3c to 760, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 2c to 310.

Nuplex gained 3c to 345, Infratil was up 3c to 188, Xero lifted 7c to a new high at 225, and Air New Zealand was up 2c to 143.

In the United States on Friday (local time), stocks shrugged off tepid jobs growth at the end of the best week in a month, indicating the rally may have further to run.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2 percent to end at 11,382.09, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.3 percent to 1224.71, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 percent to close at 2591.46.

- NZPA