NZ sharemarket falls early
The New Zealand sharemarket dropped in early trading, with key stock Telecom back to levels last seen more than two months ago.
The New Zealand sharemarket dropped in early trading, with key stock Telecom back to levels last seen more than two months ago.
Yesterday the NZX-50 index had ended the day down 23 points, against the backdrop of the early afternoon earthquake that devastated Christchurch, and following a 30-point fall on Monday. Today the index was down 8.51 points to 3350.2 around 10.15am.
Telecom shares fell 3c early to 213, while heavyweight Fletcher Building lost 3c to 845 after yesterday gaining 18c.
While Fletcher's Christchurch businesses were damaged yesterday, there is thought to be increased work potential for the building supplies and construction firm that is already taking a significant role in rebuilding the region after last September's quake.
Nuplex lost 2c to 361 after announcing before the market opened today that it had reached a settlement of matters raised in civil proceedings brought by the Securities Commission.
As part of the settlement Nuplex is to make available about $3 million as compensation for people who bought shares in a period in late-2008 and early-2009.
Sanford lost 6c to 499 and The Warehouse was down 6c to 340, both on low volume, while Xero lost 9c to 255, Sky City fell 4c to 325, Fisher&Paykel was down 2c to 302 and Infratil dropped 2c to 190. OceanaGold gained 10c to 385.
In the United States, stocks fell sharply and oil prices spiked to their highest level in two years as unrest in worsened in Libya.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.4 percent to close at 12,213, the Standard&Poor's 500 index fell 2 percent to 1315, and the Nasdaq fell 2.7 percent, to 2756.
NZPA
Wed, 23 Feb 2011
Wed, 23 Feb 2011
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NZ sharemarket falls early
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