KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trade, receiving no lead from Wall Street as US markets were closed for Thanksgiving.
Among leading stocks Telecom was up 2c early to 240, after having gained 2c yesterday and 8c on Wednesday.
But Fletcher Building was down 10c to 560, after gaining 13c yesterday, and Contact Energy was down 5c to 675.
Around 10.20am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 1.11 points to 2667.64. Yesterday it rose for a fourth consecutive day, adding 30.8 points.
Early today Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 3c to 303, Mainfreight gained 10c to 465, Nuplex was up 5c to 350, and Infratil up 2c to 165.
Among early losers Steel & Tube was down 4c to 271 and Property for Industry was down 2c to 98.
While there was no lead from the US, European shares closed higher, led by commodities and financials, although volumes were light due to Thanksgiving.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 2.6 per cent. The index has risen 12 per cent this week, but has fallen more than 43 per cent so far this year.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.95 per cent to its highest close in over a week as hopes that a Chinese interest rate cut will help China's economy bolstered shippers, steelmakers and construction machinery firms.
- NZPA