KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket slid today as Asian shares fell for a second day after another poor session for equities in the United States.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 27.377 points, or 0.978 per cent, at 2772.186. Yesterday it lost 38.3 points, giving up most of its gains from Monday's promising start to the week.
Volume was worth $70.27 million. There were 22 rises and 62 falls.
Grant Williamson at Hamilton Hindin Greene said the market's weakness reflected weakness in offshore markets and blue chip stocks were the most affected.
Contact Energy was down 9c at 716 but Telecom closed unchanged at 241, which was off its session low of 236.
Fletcher Building closed down 4c at 556 in the wake of its annual meeting where many shareholders were in good humour despite the fall in the share price this year.
Mr Williamson said shareholders welcomed news that the company intended to keep its dividend at the same level as the past year.
That was despite the company accepting that forecasts for a sharply lower profit looked to be reasonable.
Dual-listed stocks were showing sizeable losses with ANZ down 25c to 1875, Lion Nathan down 20c to 1020, and Westpac losing 115c to 2185.
Michael Hill eased 3c to 62, Hallenstein Glassons was unchanged at 230 and The Warehouse was unchanged at 385.
Kiwi Income Property Trust fell 6c to 99 after cutting its full year forecast distribution.
Auckland Airport which was down 2c to 174, Pike River Coal 2c to 100, and Sky City 3c to 303.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 1c to 137 and the healthcare stock was up 1c at 320.
Mainfreight was down 15c at 505 and Tourism Holdings was down 1c at 87.
APN was down 8c at 324. Cavalier was down 8c at 220.
In the US, Wall Street took another clobbering as the reality hit investors that few industries are safe from the consumer spending slump - whether they're building homes, making cars or selling coffee.
In preliminary closing figures, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.2 per cent, with the Nasdaq composite index also down 2.2 per cent.
Production cuts at aluminium maker Alcoa, a dismal outlook from Tyco International and weak results at Starbucks underscored fears the economic slowdown will deepen.
Signs the Chinese economy is faltering heightened concerns about the breadth of the global slump, quelling investors' appetite for risky assets.
Selling was widespread, with commodity-related shares tumbling as resources from oil to silver were stung by fears that economic gloom will curb demand and as the US dollar firmed.
- NZPA
