KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket took a small step up in early trading to start the week, with investors showing some enthusiasm for top stock Telecom.
Around five minutes after the market's 10am opening, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 6 points to 4168.68, having risen 20.25 points on Friday.
Telecom was up 5c to 440 early today, having lost 2c on Friday after the resignation of the chief operating officer of its consumer arm, Kevin Kenrick.
No 2 stock Fletcher Building was up just 1c to 1200, following a two-day gain of 36c at the end of last week.
Third ranked Contact Energy picked up 3c early to 900, after losing 2c on Friday, while The Warehouse was also 3c up early today to 598 after posting an adjusted annual net profit up 1.8 per cent to $97.9m on Friday.
Other early risers included Cavalier Corp, up 5c to 335, Pumpkin Patch 1c to 326, and Rubicon 4c to 94c.
Among stocks to fall early were Air New Zealand down 8c to 221, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare 2c to 358, Steel & Tube 2c to 460, and Tourism Holdings 5c to 225.
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In the US, stocks edged up at the end of last week as expectations of an interest rate cut this week offset a warning by Merrill Lynch that revived concerns about credit conditions and the impact of the weak US housing market.
Indices ended higher for the week, with the Dow posting its best week since April 22.
- NZPA