New Zealand shares have followed world stock markets down in a sell-off triggered by a wave of increasing alarm over the global economic outlook.Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 32.39 points or 1.08 percent to 2958.69. On top of a 17.3-p
New Zealand shares have followed world stock markets down in a sell-off triggered by a wave of increasing alarm over the global economic outlook.
Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 32.39 points or 1.08 percent to 2958.69. On top of a 17.3-point fall yesterday, the index was down to its lowest level in 11 months.
Fletcher Building dropped 12c early to 786, Nuplex fell 12c to 280, Fisher&Paykel Healthcare was down 5c to 307, Freightways lost 5c to 275, Mainfreight lost 5c to 610, NZX was down 5c to 140, Restaurant Brands dropped 5c to 227, Contact Energy fell 4c to 565, Methven dropped 4c to 155, Trustpower lost 4c to 719, and Telecom was down 4c to 185.
Shares dropping 3c included Auckland Airport to 185, NZ Refining Co to 310, NZ Oil&Gas to 123, Ryman Healthcare to 199, and Sky City to 283.
In the United States, investors fled the stock market, with the Standard&Poor's 500 Index tumbling to its lowest level in eight months in the sell-off.
All but one stock in the S&P 500 ended lower as escalating doubts about the stability of Europe's banks roiled markets once again.
The S&P 500 had tumbled below its 2010 intraday low of 1040.78 during the session, which analysts said could ignite further declines.
"Everybody is talking about 1040, that it is the do-all, end-all, blow it up, end of the world, blood on the streets level. The market crashes, the S&P goes to 900," said Marc Pado, US market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald&Co. in San Francisco.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 2.7 percent to 9870.30, the S&P 500 fell 3.1 percent to end at 1041.24, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.9 percent to 2135.18.
