The New Zealand sharemarket's benchmark index fell to a six-week low in early trading today as more signs emerged that fallout from the Greek debt crisis could spread to bigger European economies.Around 10.15am the NZX-50 index was down 16.32 points, or 0
The New Zealand sharemarket's benchmark index fell to a six-week low in early trading today as more signs emerged that fallout from the Greek debt crisis could spread to bigger European economies.
Around 10.15am the NZX-50 index was down 16.32 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3232.5, having fallen 49.2 points yesterday. In mid-April the index had been at a 19-month high around 3349 points.
Fletcher Building fell 6c early to 820, Sky TV dropped 6c to 485, Mainfreight lost 4c to 645, Nuplex was down 4c to 332, and Port of Tauranga shed 4c to 692.
Shares falling 3c early included Contact Energy, to 618, Fisher&Paykel Healthcare to 354, Michael Hill International to 71, and Rakon to 100. Telecom shares were unchanged on 215.
In the United States, resource and industrial stocks, sensitive to the outlook of global economic growth, weighed on the market. Energy shares were also pressured as the price of oil fell nearly $US3 to $US79.97 a barrel.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.5 percent to 10,868.12, the Standard&Poor's 500 Index fell 0.7 percent to 1165.87, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.9 percent to 2402.29.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed down 0.95 percent, near a nine-week low, despite paring losses slightly on strong results from market bellwethers such as Societe Generale.
In Athens, striking public sector workers challenged Greece's bailout-for-austerity deal. Three people were killed, including a pregnant woman, choked to death when protesters set an Athens bank ablaze.
Policymakers, including International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the European Central Bank's Axel Weber, warned of the dangers of contagion to other high-debt euro zone nations.
