KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket initially headed for its eighth consecutive down day after it opened slightly weaker today but after 20 minutes tentatively was in the positive.
The NZSX-50 index was up 3.9 points to 3550.9 at 10.20am. The seven falls have mostly been modest and the market has only descended 3 per cent since May 19.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances fell 3c to a record low of 210 despite reporting a relatively strong result. It blamed the high dollar for a 14 per cent fall in its March net profit to $54.2m. Normalised profit, taking out the one-off cost of restructuring, was $65.5m, up 4.3 per cent.
There were very few movements of note in the top 50.
Market leader Telecom was up 2c to 395 and No 2, Contact Energy, awaiting news of the takeover of parent Origin Energy, was up 1c to 911.
No 3 stock Fletcher Building held steady on 760, a 27-month low.
Air NZ, which yesterday issued a profit warning, was down 2c to 109 to add to yesterday's 3c loss. The 80 per cent government owned airline said it expected its full year earnings to be at least 25 per cent below last year's level due to higher fuel costs.
TrustPower was down 3c to 833 while Sky TV was up 4c to 372.
Among the smaller stocks, ProvencoCadmus was up 2c to 32c and Xero was up 3c to 85.
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On Wall Street, US stocks fell in choppy trading as renewed fears about the health of the financial sector overshadowed stronger-than-expected data on business investment that suggested an improving economy.
American International Group, the world's largest insurer, fell nearly 5 per cent and dragged the major indexes lower after Citigroup said the insurer may need even more capital after raising US$20 billion ($25.8 billion) just last week.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 21.90 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 12,526.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2.67 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 1382.68 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 7.99 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 2473.25.
- NZPA