Wellington, Aug 24 NZPA - The New Zealand dollar pushed up against the greenback in the first part of the overnight session, but then fell away as equities in the United States gave up early gains.

Around 8am the kiwi was buying US70.69c, similar to its level at 5pm yesterday, having pushed up to about US71.25c shortly before 2am.

ANZ bank said European and US equities had initially ground higher as mergers and acquisition activity boosted investor confidence, taking the NZ dollar along for the ride.

But that did not last, and as the equity markets reversed their gains they dragged the kiwi back under US71c.

The euro slipped broadly, as new euro zone data added to concerns over the economy and investors increasingly bet on prospects of loose monetary policy until year-end. A survey of euro zone purchasing managers showed slower manufacturing growth in the region in August.

The NZ dollar rose to 0.5582 euro at 8am from 0.5554 at 5pm, while it was little changed by the local open at 60.25 yen and A79.29c against the Australian dollar.

The trade weighted index was 66.34 around 8am from 66.23 at 5pm.