KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket was little changed on opening after the United States stocks fell overnight.
US stocks fell as investors mulled whether recent gains had staying power given rising corporate layoffs and disappointing profit outlooks.
Trading was choppy after shares jumped Monday to a month high, and analysts said profit-taking contributed to the negative tone.
The local sharemarket was down slightly soon after opening .
The NZSX-50 was down 0.069 per cent, or 1.884 points, to 2722.83 at 10.10am after closing at 2724.71 yesterday.
Freightways was down 6c to 295, Auckland Airport 1c to 168, Restaurant Brands 1c to 60, after rising 2c yesterday on announcement of improvement in quarterly sales, and Fletcher Building 2c to 560.
Telecom was up 1c to 234, Port of Tauranga 5c to 610, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare 2c to 310, Cavalier 2c to 182 and SkyCity 2c to 296.
In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 242.85 points, or 2.72 per cent, to end unofficially at 8691.33.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 21.05 points, or 2.31 per cent, to close unofficially at 888.65.
The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 24.40 points, or 1.55 per cent, to end unofficially at 1547.34.
Australian shares were also expected to open softer with the focus on Westpac after speculation its A$2.5 billion ($3.08 billion) equity raising might be followed by other banks.
- NZPA