Sharemarket lifts in early trade

The New Zealand sharemarket rose in early trading, even as leading stock Telecom slipped nearly 3 per cent.

Around 10.15am, the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 4.31 points to 3117.94, having lost 27.5 points on Friday.

Telecom shares were down 7c early to $2.49, while another leading share, Fletcher Building eased down 1c to $7.66.

Port of Tauranga gained 9c to $7.09 early but on low volume, retailer The Warehouse gained 8c to $4.16 also on low volume, with Cavalier Corp up 5c to $2.35, NZ Refining Co up 4c to $5.06, Mainfreight up 3c to $5.58, and Tower up 3c to $1.78.

Ryman Healthcare shares were unchanged on $1.96 after the company reported realised profit for the six months to the end of September up 12.2 per cent to a record $29 million.

Shares in clothing and nursery product retailer Postie Plus Group, which said first quarter sales were up 15 per cent from a year earlier, were also unchanged early, at 39c.

* * *

In the United States, stocks fell for a third straight day on Friday (local time) as investors took weaker-than-expected results from computer maker Dell and homebuilder DR Horton as a further sign that the recovery would be anemic.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 per cent to 10,318.16, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.3 per cent to 1091.38, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.5 per cent to 2146.04.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.2 per cent and the Nasdaq shed 1 per cent.

- NZPA