KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket eased in early trading today, following a retreat on Wall Street - particularly among financial sector stocks.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index slipped 7.9 points or 0.23 per cent to 3417.53 in the first 20 minutes.
Telecom dropped 2c to 380, while other heavyweights also lost ground - Fletcher Building shedding 10c to 838 and Contact Energy 1c to 805.
Others to fall included Fisher and Paykel Appliances, down 1c to 236, and Air New Zealand 3c to 132.
Auckland Airport gained 1c to 221 and Pumpkin Patch, up 5c yesterday, advanced 9c to 190.
Another stock which has risen sharply this week, Rakon, added 3c to 250.
United States stocks dropped as financial shares slid when concerns resurfaced that bank profits will take much longer than expected to recover from the housing slump.
Surging oil prices and data showing a tumble in orders for US-made manufactured goods revived concerns that the economy is already in recession.
Bank stocks tumbled across the board when a prominent analyst lowered her first-quarter profit forecasts for Citigroup, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Wachovia Corp. The S&P financial index fell 3.5 per cent, marking its biggest setback after rising more than 10 per cent in the last two weeks.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 109.74 points, or 0.88 per cent, at 12,422.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 11.86 points, or 0.88 per cent, to end at 1341.13 - marking the broader market's first decline in four days.
The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 16.69 points, or 0.71 per cent, to close at 2,324.36.
- NZPA
