Wellington, July 30 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket edged up in quiet early trading.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 2.45 points to 3035.47, following a 10.8-point gain yesterday.

Among the few early movements of note, Delegat's Group rose 4c to 164, its highest level in two months, having lifted 16c in all since last Thursday.

Mainfreight gained 6c to 661, on top of a 6c gain yesterday after telling shareholders at its annual meeting its first quarter earnings will be higher.

NZX was up 4c to 150 and Infratil gained 2c to 164.

In the United States, stocks sagged in volatile trading after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.

St Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said he is worried about the risks the United States could fall into a Japan-style quagmire of falling prices and investment. That pressured stocks before a late session rebound.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.3 percent to 10,467.16, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 1101.54, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.6 percent to 2251.69.