Flat start for NZ shares

The New Zealand sharemarket was flat in early trading, with NZ Refining Co falling a further 5c on top of yesterday's 15c fall when a company statement highlighted its difficult trading environment.

Shares in the refining company were down to 385, their lowest level in 4-1/2 years.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up just 0.39 points to 3123.31, after yesterday ending down 9.4 points.

Other stocks falling early included Nuplex down 4c to 276, after rising 20c yesterday following an improved profit forecast. Freightways dropped 3c to 312, Sky City fell 3c to 326, and OceanaGold fell 10c to 210.

On the other side of the ledger, Fletcher Building was up 5c to 770 early after falling 9c yesterday, Trustpower gained 10c to 730, Ebos added 7c to 565, Rakon lifted 2c to 117, Pike River Coal was up 2c to 98, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 2c to 335.

Telecom was down 1c early to 238 and Contact Energy was unchanged on 576.

In the United States, stocks fell as the US dollar's rebound spurred a safe-haven trade, cutting demand for riskier assets, while a soft profit outlook from economic bellwether FedEx sank transportation shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.3 percent to end unofficially at 10,308.26, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.2 percent to 1096.08, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.2 percent to 2180.05

- NZPA