Wellington, Aug 24 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket edged lower in early trading after stocks slipped in the United States on one of the lightest volume sessions of the year, and the outcome of the Australian election remained unclear.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 3.13 points to 3013.65, having yesterday lifted 16.4 points.

Key stock Telecom lost 2c early to 205 after yesterday rising 4c, while Mainfreight gained 4c to 674.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 2c to 279, Restaurant Brands lost 2c to 247, and Turners & Growers gained 2c to 140.

In the US, stocks gave back early gains and fell as a slew of corporate takeover activity, usually a sign of investor optimism, was outweighed by concerns about the global economy.

Analysts said the recent spate of mergers and acquisition activity also pointed to companies continuing to make profits through cost cutting rather than through revenue growth, and highlighted the economy's weakness.

Mergers also typically lead to job cuts, casting another shadow over an already weak US labour market.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.4 percent to 10,174.41, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.4 percent to 1067.36, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.9 percent to 2159.63.