NZ stocks: Shares ease after high

The New Zealand sharemarket eased off this morning after racing to a fresh high yesterday.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index was 2.91 points lower at 3446.51 by 10.15am, just shy of yesterday's closing high of 3449.41. It touched 3449.59 in intraday trading.

Top stock Telecom eased a cent to 608, Fletcher Building was down 3c at 775, Contact Energy rose 2c to 754, Carter Holt Harvey was flat at 252, and The Warehouse eased a cent to 394.

Fisher and Paykel Appliances, which yesterday announced it will locate its new US manufacturing facility in Clyde, Ohio, was 5c lower at 340.

Falls outnumbered rises by 21 to 12 among the 79 stocks traded so far. Turnover of 11 million shares was worth $50 million.

- NZPA