Share market opens lower

Shares in Auckland Airport fell when the New Zealand sharemarket opened for the week, after the company announced a deal to buy stakes in Cairns and Mackay airports in Queensland.

Auckland Airport's share price was down 5c, or 2.4 per cent, to $2.03 shortly after the market opened, following the announcement it had agreed to buy from Westpac Bank a 24.55 per cent stake in North Queensland Airports for A$132.8 million (about $166m).

The wider market was also lower, with the benchmark NZX-50 index down 6.55 points to 3303.68 around 10.15am, falling from its 15-month closing high of 3310.2 on Friday when the index gained 25.4 points.

Other shares falling early today included Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, down 3c to $3.36, Tourism Holdings down 3c to 90c, and Telecom easing 1c to $2.58.

Among the early risers were NZX, up 4c to $2.30, NZ Refining Co 4c to $3.69, and F&P Appliances 2c to 64c.

Fletcher Building continued its general upward trend since mid-December, lifting 3c to an 11-week high of $8.35, while Contact Energy shares were unchanged on $6.32.

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In the United States, stocks rose on Friday after trading in the red most of the day as investors concluded weak December jobs data would not interrupt a trend of steady economic recovery.

The S&P 500 and the Dow hit new 15-month highs while the Nasdaq climbed to its highest level in 16 months. Friday closed a strong week for US stocks with the S&P 500 climbing all five sessions.

The economy unexpectedly shed 85,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department reported, but analysts said this was not inconsistent with a slowly recovering economy as the pace of monthly jobs losses have declined sharply since the height of the recession.

In addition, November's payrolls report was revised to a gain in jobs, bolstering that view.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1 per cent to 10,618.19, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 0.3 per cent to 1144.98, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.7 per cent to 2317.17.

- NZPA