Small early gain for NZ shares

The New Zealand sharemarket made small early gains following yesterday's 1 per cent fall and a rocky session on Wall Street.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 2.46 points to 3186.2, having fallen 31.9 points yesterday.

Shares in NZ Refining Co were up 4c to $5.24 after it was revealed a consortium of the NZ Superannuation Fund and Infratil was negotiating with Shell over possibly buying Shell New Zealand's refining, and distribution and retailing businesses. That includes a 17.1 per cent stake in NZ Refining.

Infratil shares were down 1c early to $1.64.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 4c to $3.10, Trustpower was up 3c to $7.60, Fletcher Building lifted 3c to $8.15, Mainfreight was up 3c to $5.36, and Michael Hill International lifted 2c to 68c.

Contact Energy shares fell 4c early to $6.14, Methven was down 3c to $1.64, Port of Tauranga was down 2c to $7.00, The Warehouse lost 2c to $4.51, and Auckland Airport fell 2c to $1.95.

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In the US, stocks pushed mostly back into positive territory, but were off session highs, as a sell-off in banking shares reversed initial gains built on solid economic data.

Key data on manufacturing and housing pointed to steady improvement in the economy, but critical comments on the financial sector from a Federal Reserve official caused investors to sell financial shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.5 per cent to 9757.47, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.2 per cent to 1038.65, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.2 per cent to 2041.65.

- NZPA