KEY POINTS:
Shares in Air New Zealand opened 15c down at 275 on the sharemarket today, after it was announced that Qantas had sold its entire 4.2 per cent shareholding in this country's national carrier.
Early figures showed more than 44.2 million shares changing hands with turnover of $119.4 million.
Air New Zealand said before the market opened that it had been advised the overnight placement was successfully concluded with all of Qantas' shares globally sold to institutional investors with particular support in New Zealand and Australia.
Qantas' 4.2 per cent interest in Air New Zealand was acquired when the two companies were discussing a strategic alliance.
About 10 minutes after the market opened, the NZSX-50 index was down 14.32 points to 4237.71.
Yesterday the sharemarket had closed lower for its fourth consecutive session in the absence of substantial news affecting stocks, with the NZSX-50 losing 18.88 points,
Early today top stock Telecom was down 2c to 450, having lost four cents yesterday.
Among other leading stocks, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare clawed back 1c early to 333, having lost 7c yesterday, while Contact Energy dropped 4c to 906 on low volume.
SkyCity was down 6c to 510, having added 18c on Monday on the news managing director Evan Davies was standing down, then losing 3c yesterday.
The company is returning its focus to the key Auckland casino, and streamlining the business through asset sales and removing costs.
Among early losers today was Freightways off 7c to 403, Hellaby Holdings down 3c to 355, Port of Tauranga down 18c to 708, and Trustpower down 8c to 852.
Early risers were thin on the ground including AMP up 3c to 1128, Calan Healthcare up 1c to 134, and Guinness Peat Group up 1c to 207.
Adding to its 2c gain yesterday, Fletcher Building was also up early, lifting 5c to 1255.
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In the US, stocks closed down for a third session as higher bond yields raised concerns about borrowing costs and more fallout from the subprime mortgage market kept investors on edge.
But a drop in oil prices eased worries about inflation and takeovers in health care and chemicals increased optimism about share valuations, limiting the market's decline.
During the session, stocks remained skittish and swung back and forth from positive to negative.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.11 per cent, to end at 13,337.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.32 per cent, to finish at 1492.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.11 per cent, to close at 2574.16.
- NZPA