NZ stocks: Market continues sideways shuffle

The sharemarket repeated yesterday's sideways shuffle in early business today, despite Wall Street's solid rise on lower oil prices.

At 10.10am the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was up 4.78 to 3321.23 on light volume.

Market leader Telecom was up 1c to 590 and No 2 stock, Contact Energy, was up 2c to 676. No 3 stock, Fletcher Building, was down 3c to 775 ahead of its annual meeting today.

Air New Zealand rose 2c to 116, responding to lower fuel prices, while fishing company Sanford was up 5c in response to the higher New Zealand dollar. GPG also responded to the lower currency, up 4c to 210.

The Dow Jones industrial average of US blue chips rose 55.47 points, or 0.5 per cent, to end unofficially at 10,586.23.

- NZPA