KEY POINTS:
An early fall in Telecom shares after yesterday's third quarter profit announcement saw the New Zealand sharemarket open lower today.
Within five minutes of the market's 10am opening, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 8.25 points to 4194.43.
Telecom shares lost 5c to 482, having closed unchanged yesterday at 487.
The country's largest listed company, yesterday declared a $1.1 billion share cancellation at its third quarter report but couldn't give guidance on earnings or spending plans amid continuing uncertainty.
Nine-month net profit was $690 million against a loss of $244 million a year earlier, but the result lacked any positive surprises.
Also down early today was Restaurant Brands, which eased 1c to 90c, Sky TV was down 2c to 583, Tourism Holdings was down 1c to 272 and Tower was down 1c to 219.
Shares in fogbound Auckland International Airport were also down early, dropping 2c to 259, having hit a record high of 263 during trading yesterday.
The few early risers today included Air New Zealand up 2c to 283, and Contact Energy up 4c to 892, on top of a 4c gain yesterday, after having lost 31c in the first three days of the week.
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In the US, the Standard & Poor's 500 index topped 1500 for the first time since 2000 after a series of indicators showed signs of strength in the economy and a moderate rise in wage inflation.
The Dow Jones industrials closed at a record for the third straight day, led by a 3.7 per cent gain in Verizon Communications Inc on news that it is taking video and internet customers from rival Cablevision Systems.
Reports showing greater-than expected growth in the vast services sector, a faster-than-expected increase in productivity and slowing labour cost gains combined to drive demand for stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.22 per cent at 13,241.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.43 per cent at 1502.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3 per cent at 2565.46.
- NZPA