NZ sharemarket falls early

The New Zealand sharemarket fell in early trading, with retailer Hallenstein Glasson retreating further, despite reporting a profit surge yesterday.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 4.59 points to 3232.96, after yesterday gaining 4.8 points.

Hallenstein Glasson was down 5c early to $3.35, on top of a 5c fall yesterday which came after the company reported its first half profit up 56 per cent.

Other early falls included NZ Refining Co down 3c to $4.00, Sky City down 2c to $3.27, and Sky TV down 2c to $5.15.

Among leading shares, Telecom fell 1c to $2.13, Contact Energy slipped 1c to $6.11, and Fletcher Building was unchanged on $8.35. Property for Industry gained 2c to $1.19 and Abano Healthcare was up 4c to $5.22.

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In the United States, stocks ended flat, dropping off earlier highs as a weak US bond auction and global debt concerns continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Indexes advanced for most of the session, with the Dow and S&P hitting fresh 18-month highs, but their gains mostly disappeared after the auction of seven-year notes and comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on issues surrounding Greece's sovereign debt.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.1 per cent to end at 10,841.21, but the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.2 per cent at 1165.73, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.1 per cent at 2397.41.

- NZPA