KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket eked out a small rise in early trading as concerns about the NZ dollar hitting US80c and higher interest rates continued to worry equity investors.
The week's star, Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIAL), which yesterday traded up to 350 on news Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is proposing to spend $2.3 billion for a stake of 51 per cent in a new company that will own the airport, was up 1c to 342.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 6.10 points to 4312.64 at 10.20am.
No 2 stock Fletcher Building was up 5c to 1285 and market leader Telecom was up 1c to 573.
There were few moves of note in the top 50. Carpet maker Cavalier was up 5c to 325 despite the high dollar.
Trustpower fell 10c to 850 following its strong run that has taken it to a near new record.
Ebos was down 5c to 490.
Infratil, also an airport owner, rose another 2c to 320 after gaining 6c yesterday.
Among the small stocks, Cabletalk took a hefty dump, losing 3c to 30c, while Broadway lost 4c to 81.
The fate of Tourism Holdings should be known soon. Bidder MFS Living and Leisure said it has done a final count and will make a statement today. Its offer was conditional of 90 per cent of shareholders accepting. THL was unchanged on 270.
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Wall Street shares rocketed higher amid a renewed burst of merger and takeover activity as investors propelled the Dow close to the 14,000 point mark.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 92.34 points, or 0.67 per cent, to finish at 13,943.42 at the closing bell after smashing the 14,000 barrier for the first time ever last week.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.98 points, or 0.11 per cent, to end at 2690.58 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.44 points, or 0.48 per cent, to a preliminary close of 1541.54.
- NZPA