Sharemarket slips early

The New Zealand sharemarket slipped in early trading after stocks in the United States moved only slightly.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 5.31 points to 3162.1, having edged up 2.3 points yesterday.

Retailer The Warehouse lost 5c early to $4.25, and Ebos Group was down 4c to $5.95.

Fletcher Building was down 4c to $8.00, after the company said it intended to pay a total dividend of 28c per share for the 2010 financial year.

Sanford gained 5c to $5.05, and Steel & Tube lifted 4c to $3.25.

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In the US, stocks closed little changed in light volume.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.2 per cent to end at 10,246.97, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index edged down 0.01 per cent to finish at 1093.01, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 per cent to close at 2151.08.

- NZPA