Kathmandu leads risers in early trade

Kathmandu shares rose 7c to a new high in early trading on the New Zealand sharemarket, on top of a 19c gain yesterday after it reported its first interim result since being floated last November.

The 3 percent gain in the outdoor clothing and equipment retailer took the shares to a new high 245, but was one of few interesting developments on a generally flat market.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX50 was down 1.6 points to 3219.09, after a 19.7-point gain yesterday.

Other retailers also gained early, with The Warehouse up 4c early to 390 and Briscoe Group up 2c to 136. Sky TV was up 3c to 505 and NZ Refining lifted 2c to 372.

Trustpower lost 4c to 715, Infratil dropped 2c to 166, and Comvita lost 5c to 190.

Telecom dropped 3c early to 212, 1c under its previous all-time low reached on both of the past two days, as investors worried the company's earnings outlook implies lower dividends for the next few years.

In the United States, the Dow industrials advanced for an eighth consecutive session, lifted by a rise in Boeing's stock, while a mixed group of economic figures kept the broader S&P 500 in check.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.42 percent to end at 10,779.17, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 0.03 percent to 1165.83, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to close at 2391.28.

- NZPA