KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket opened flat today, following the Reserve Bank's decision to leave official interest rates unchanged.
While leaving rates at 8.25 per cent, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard indicated inflation problems were significantly worse than previously signalled.
Around 10.20am today the sharemarket's benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 3.12 points to 4037.68, having fallen in the six previous trading days, yesterday losing 19.3 points.
Today the market opened with 11 rises and 11 falls among 54 stocks traded, for a light $23.5 million.
Yesterday's big movers were showing little sign of budging, with casino operator Sky City unchanged early on 485, having fallen 10c yesterday as it announced its only interested party was not ready to make a takeover bid yet but hoped to soon.
The market is thought to be growing less convinced of the likelihood a bid is coming.
In contrast, Abano Healthcare gained 17c yesterday as a second interested party emerged in the dental, audiology and radiology group. Early today it, too, was unchanged early on 505.
Also unmoved early today, at 390, was OceanaGold, after leaping 80c or 25 per cent yesterday, having announced on Tuesday it had high grade assay results from a drilling programme at its Reefton gold mine.
Today's small early gain came after US stocks rose , adding to a rally in global stock markets as some investors were lured back following a two-day sell-off.
Stocks to gain early were Freightways up 3c to 378, Hallenstein Glasson up 5c to 385, Sky TV up 2c to 558 and Tower up 2c to 219.
Contact Energy was down 6c to 840, having fallen 1c yesterday.
Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.48 per cent, to end unofficially at 13,445.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.51 per cent, at 1484.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.78 per cent, at 2666.36.
- NZPA