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The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trading today, despite gains on Wall Street overnight.
The opening of the market in this country also came after the Reserve Bank left official New Zealand interest rates at 8.25 per cent, but issued a statement seen by many as being more neutral than previously.
By 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 1.28 points to 3607.19, having risen 25.2 points yesterday.
The way down was led by top stock Telecom, which slipped 4c early to 382 after a 7c jump yesterday.
But the news was better for Air New Zealand, with an early 3c gain to 122, partly offsetting yesterday's 10c fall to a year low of 119 after downgrading its operational profit outlook due to high jet fuel prices.
Fletcher Building was up 4c early to 857, Sky TV was up 4c to 465, with Infratil up 1c to 231.
NZX was unchanged on 806 early, after the stock exchange operator reported a 25 per cent increase in first quarter net profit to $2.17 million.
In the US stocks rose as a range of technology companies posted results that showed the sector's resiliency in the face of an economic slowdown.
Broadcom Corp, a top chipmaker for cell phones, beat its quarterly revenue target, while Apple rose 1.7 per cent, benefiting from optimism that its profit would exceed Wall Street's expectations.
Boeing drove the Dow industrials higher after news that strong deliveries of commercial planes boosted its profits. Companies like Boeing with big international sales have outperformed companies with a more domestic focus.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.34 per cent at 12,763.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.29 per cent at 1379.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.19 per cent at 2405.21.
- NZPA