The New Zealand sharemarket fell in early trade, after the Reserve Bank increased interest rates but sounded more downbeat than it had seven weeks ago.Announcing the official cash rate was being lifted 25 basis points to 3 percent, Reserve Bank Governor A
The New Zealand sharemarket fell in early trade, after the Reserve Bank increased interest rates but sounded more downbeat than it had seven weeks ago.
Announcing the official cash rate was being lifted 25 basis points to 3 percent, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said the outlook for economic growth had softened somewhat.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 11.63 points to 3010.56, after gaining 13.8 points yesterday.
Stocks falling early included Fletcher Building, down 8c to 760, Abano Healthcare down 3c to 527, Hallenstein Glasson down 2c to 368, Nuplex down 2c to 296, Telecom down 2c to 194, and Tower down 2c to 183.
Contact Energy was unchanged early on 566, while Steel&Tube gained 4c to 224, and Fisher&Paykel Healthcare lifted 2c to 298.
In the United States, stocks fell after weak durable goods figures and a downbeat assessment of the economy from the Federal Reserve's Beige Book kept the benchmark S&P 500 trapped below its 200-day moving average.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.4 percent to 10,497.88, the Standard&Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.7 percent to 1106.12, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1 percent to 2264.56.
