NZ Shares: Market up 0.5pc early

Rises in leading shares helped lift the New Zealand sharemarket in early trading.

Top stock Telecom gained 3c early to $2.61 after falling 4c yesterday, while Fletcher Building lifted 7c to $6.42 after dropping 6c yesterday.

But Contact Energy lost ground in early trading, down 3c to $5.75.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 13.66 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 2753.46, after closing down 22.2 points yesterday.

Stocks rising early included Sky City, which was up 5c to $2.67, Ebos Group up 3c to $5.10, Sky TV up 3c to $4.29, and Pike River Coal up 3c to $1.15.

Among stocks down in early trade, NZ Refining lost 5c to $6.85, Tower lost 2c to $1.67, Rakon lost 2c to $1.43 and Infratil lost 2c to $1.74.

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In the United States, the Dow fell for the fourth day and other indexes ended well off the day's highs after the Federal Reserve reiterated concerns about the economic outlook at the end of its policy meeting.

The Fed, as expected, left the benchmark fed funds rate at almost zero, but stocks pulled back after the Fed did not suggest in its statement that it sees any notable recovery any time soon.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.3 per cent at 8299.86, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.7 per cent at 900.94, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.6 per cent at 1792.34.

- NZPA