KEY POINTS:
The local sharemarket was flat soon after opening following the lead of US stocks which edged up overnight.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 1 point to 3628.97 at 10.15am today after closing up yesterday for the fifth consecutive day for the first time this year.
On Wall St, US stocks ended up slightly after a report that Merrill Lynch & Co does not need to raise more capital eased fears of a deeper credit crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.20 points to 12,626.03. Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.78 points at 1369.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.90 points at 2363.30.
In this country top stock Telecom was unchanged in early trading at 397, while Contact was up 3c to 850, Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 238 and Tower added 3c to 193.
Pumpkin Patch was down 5c to 190, Sky TV slipped 2c to 480 and Hallenstein Glasson down 5c to 405.
Lombard Group was unchanged this morning after falling 59c to 20 in trading yesterday after it requested a moratorium on payments by its finance company Lombard Finance and Investments Ltd.
- NZPA