Wellington, Nov 17 NZPA - The New Zealand dollar started the week with a big step down and then went sideways.

At 8am today the NZ dollar was worth US55.43c, down from US56.65c on Friday, and by 5pm it was US55.35c.

ANZ said Wall Street's poor performance on Friday helped deliver a bout of NZ dollar selling.

The announcement of the National Party's cabinet members today was welcomed by many business groups but the domestic financial markets continue to follow trends in offshore markets.

Westpac said news from the corporate sector was dominating global investor sentiment but this should be countered by reaction to fiscal stimulus and other official support from meetings like the G20 at the weekend.

"So we are neutral on the NZ dollar in the short-term," said Westpac.

Against the Australian dollar, the NZ dollar was A85.45c by 5pm from A85.70c at 5pm Friday.

Against the yen it was 53.95 from 54.99 on Friday.

"The unwinding of carry trades is well advanced, and perhaps a less potent force for yen crosses in the future," Westpac said.

The NZ dollar was buying 0.4399 euro, down from 0.4430 o n Friday.

The trade weighted index was 56.76, down from 57.53 on Friday.

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