KEY POINTS:
A weaker US market and a lull before tomorrow's budget announcement saw the local sharemarket fall almost one per cent today.
Pressure continued on third-ranked Fletcher Building, which descended to a new two-year low on concern about the construction industry.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index fell 35.48 points to 3611.72. Turnover was steady at around $130 million according to preliminary NZX data.
ASB Securities broker Stephen Wright said the market was quiet, as expected, after global markets fell overnight and a "listlessness" before tomorrow's budget announcement.
"It's just generally a market lacking any positive momentum... New Zealand's got much the same problems (as the US) where consumer confidence is low, investor confidence is low, so it's all that. The economy is subdued."
Fletcher Building lost another 30c to 795 today. It fell 25c yesterday on concerns about its US operations. It has plunged 41 per cent in a year.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 2c to 278 after reporting a 30 per cent fall in its annual profit which it blamed on the weak US dollar. The result was better than anticipated.
Top stock Telecom had a weak start and closed down 3c to 392.
SkyTV was down 4c to 466 after state-owned rival TVNZ called for the Government to split up the pay-tv channel.
NZ Oil and Gas closed up 2c to 164 after it was announced the Tui oil field, of which NZOG owns 12.5 per cent, was estimated to hold an additional 5 million barrels of oil.
The Warehouse, still awaiting the result of a court case to determine whether Foodstuffs or Woolworths can bid to own it, was up 3c to 534. Mr Wright said the decision should not be too far away.
Nuplex fell heavily, 21c to 625, for the same reasons Fletcher weakened - concern about the construction industry outlook.
Mr Wright said the dual listed Australian stocks were weak. Westpac fell 63 to 3017 and ANZ 71c to 2693. However, Japanese brewer Lion Nathan rose 38c to 1100 after yesterday's profit announcement in which it beat predictions and forecast a strong second half.
No 2 stock Contact Energy, which yesterday gained 15c on hopes a new controlling owner has been lined up, fell 11c to 889.
US stocks took a 1.5 per cent hit from worrying inflation data and a weak earnings report from Home Depot highlighting troubles in the housing market.
A rise in crude oil futures to a record high above US$129 ($168.80) also darkened the mood on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 193.54 points, 1.49 per cent to 12,834.62 at the closing bell, a day after finishing above a key level of 13,000.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slumped 23.83 points, 0.95 per cent, to 2492.26 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 12.69 points, 0.89 per cent, to a preliminary close of 1413.94.
- NZPA
