The New Zealand sharemarket fell quickly in early trade, after stocks in the United States dropped as oil prices shot up on worries about supply disruptions, fanning concerns about a dampening effect on economic growth
The New Zealand sharemarket fell quickly in early trade, after stocks in the United States dropped as oil prices shot up on worries about supply disruptions, fanning concerns about a dampening effect on economic growth.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 9.78 points to 3374.61, having gained 13.9 points yesterday.
Fletcher Building shares were down 16c to 858, having lost 3c yesterday, after a shareholder and member of the founding family of Australia's Crane Group urged fellow investors to reject Fletcher's takeover offer ahead of a March 11 bid deadline.
Telecom shares fell 2c early to 213 giving up some of the 7c gain made yesterday, while among other key stocks Contact Energy fell 2c to 615.
Sanford was down 4c early to 500, Kathmandu Holdings lost 5c to 204, Steel&Tube was down 4c to 256, and Mainfreight shed 3c to 811.
OceanaGold added 10c to 365 and The Warehouse was up 2c to 347.
In the US, concerns that rising oil prices could hurt economic recovery prompted investors to sell stocks and hedge against further declines.
The CBOE Volatility Index VIX, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, jumped 13.3 percent to 20.79 on growing uncertainty about oil.
Brent crude oil pushed back above $US115 a barrel as supply disruptions persist and unrest spreads in the Middle East and North Africa.
On preliminary figures, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.4 percent to 12,057.72, the Standard&Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.6 percent to 1306.28, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.6 percent to 2737.41.
