Sharemarket up in early trading

NZPA

Friday 15th July 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket was up in early trading today, in the wake of yesterday's news that gross domestic product had grown more than expected.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 8.167 points to 3417.72, a change of 0.24 percent.

The index closed down 14.798 points (0.432 percent) at 3409.553, having closed down 6 points on Wednesday.

Key stock Telecom rose 2c to 246 early, with Fletcher Building climbing to 818, a lift of 0.62 percent, and AMP an early performer, back up to 600, after yesterday slipping 21c to 585.

Sky City was up 1c to 360, Contact Energy gained 1c to 536, and Rakon lifted 1c to 101.

In the United States stocks fell as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke backed off hints that additional near-term stimulus could be on the way, removing a possible catalyst from a market already facing plenty of obstacles.

Technology shares led the market lower and the Nasdaq fell 1 percent, reversing early gains while the market's favoured indicator of anxiety, the CBOE Volatility Index, rose 4.5 percent and hit a two-and-a-half week high.

Bernanke said in a second day of testimony that the US central bank would be ready to inject more money should the economy get worse. He said the time had not come yet, undercutting comments from a day earlier that spurred a late-day rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 54.49 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 12,437.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 8.85 points, or 0.67 percent, to finish at 1308.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 34.25 points, or 1.22 percent, to end at 2,762.67.

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