Flat start for NZ shares

The New Zealand sharemarket opened the week flat, with major stocks Telecom and Fletcher Building unchanged in early trading.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 0.19 points to 3225.33, with Telecom on $2.23 and Fletcher Building on $8.15. The muted start to the week comes after a flat Friday in which the index ended up just 1.7 points.

Freightways lost 6c early to $3.03 and Port of Tauranga was down 6c to $7.00, while Mainfreight dropped 3c to $6.15, Steel & Tube down 3c to $2.61, Guinness Peat Group fell 2c to 88, Pike river Coal lost 2c to 90, and Sky TV down 2c to $5.06.

Ryman Healthcare added 2c early to $2.07, and Nuplex gained 2c to $3.35.

The dual-listed banks had contrasting fortunes, with Westpac down 14c to $35.00, while ANZ lifted 15c to $31.75.

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In the United States, mixed consumer and retail data kept stocks near break even on the final day of last week.

With few economic data points or corporate earnings reports, the stock market struggled for direction.

February retail sales rose after forecasts had called for a decline, but a separate report showed consumer sentiment edged lower in early March, according to a survey that noted a less positive view of the job outlook.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.1 per cent to end at 10,624.69 on Friday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 0.02 per cent to 1149.99, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.03 per cent to close at 2367.66.

For the week, the Dow gained 0.6 per cent, the S&P 500 climbed 1 per cent and the Nasdaq advanced 1.8 per cent.

- NZPA