KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket eased in early trade, as top stock Telecom slipped further.
Around 10.25am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 3.66 points to 3366.53, after rising 12.4 points yesterday.
While many stocks showed early gains, following the lead of the US where a further slip in oil prices spurred a rally, Telecom was down 3c to 333.
That was on top of a 4c loss yesterday as investors assess US hedge fund Elliott International's move to nominate two candidates for board seats.
Elliott owns 3 per cent of Telecom and says that so far there is not a wider concerted effort behind its move.
The other main stock to fall early was Fletcher Building, losing 7c to 650, on top of a 12c fall yesterday. The company is expected to report lower annual earnings tomorrow, with the focus to be on what it says about the outlook for the property market and profits.
Among stocks rising early was Sky TV up 5c to 480, Steel & Tube up 5c to 315, The Warehouse up 3c to 347, Rakon up 3c to 307, and Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 2c to 218.
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In the US, the steam was taken out of the market's rally in the last hour of trading as oil prices ended off their lows for the session.
"Every time oil falls, stocks rise at the moment. But oil is not going to keep going down every day with all that is going on geopolitically," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.41 per cent to 11,782.35, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.69 per cent to 1305.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.07 per cent to 2439.95.
- NZPA
