Sharemarket flat early

The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trade, with falls and rises largely cancelling each other out.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 0.97 points to 3179.86, having gained 15.6 points yesterday.

Among leading shares Contact Energy was up 5c to $6.05, Fletcher Building lost 7c to $8.08 and Telecom lifted 1c to $2.59.

Trustpower gained 4c early to $7.50, The Warehouse lifted 3c to $4.48, Port of Tauranga was up 2c to $6.92 and Mainfreight added 2c to $5.40.

Early falls included Pike River Coal down 5c to $1.08, Ebos Group down 2c to $5.91, and Nuplex down 2c to $2.37.

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In the United States, investors opted to lock in profits before earnings season picks up steam. Volatility was heightened by light volume, with many market players away for the Columbus Day holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.2 per cent to 9885.80, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.4 per cent to 1076.19, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was off 0.01 per cent to 2139.14.

The S&P 500 hit a 2009 intraday high of 1079.46 before cutting gains but still racked up its longest winning streak since another six-day runup in late May and early June 2007.

- NZPA