KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket fell today after more heavy losses on global markets on credit concerns and is now below where it started the year.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index was down 21.1 points to 4049.9 at 10.20am. The index, which also includes dividend payments, started the year on 4055.5. Turnover was moderate on $35m.
One bright spot was NZ Oil & Gas which rose 12c, 12 per cent, to 112 after it reported that oil reserves for its 12.5 per cent owned Tui field had been increased 30 per cent to 41.7 million barrels.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 4c to 316 after it reported a 28.8 per cent fall in its half year net profit to $18.7 million. It blamed the high dollar for much of the fall.
Mainfreight continued to prosper after its strong result yesterday, up 5c to 529.
Telecom was down 2c to 416, having fallen 6c on very heavy turnover of $274m yesterday when it announced some key executive appointments to head its divisions following its enforced split and an accelerated programme for its network upgrade.
Fletcher Building lost 9c of the 15c it gained yesterday to be on 1161.
Michael Hill was one of the few in the top 50 to rise, firming 3c to 108.
Contact Energy was down 3c to 892. Auckland Airport, having jumped 13c yesterday as the market digested the election of Infratil's Lloyd Morrison and two council-backed directors to the board, fell 5c to 294.
US stocks plummeted sending the Dow to its lowest close since April, on concerns that trouble in the housing market could get worse and further harm the economy.
The sell-off dragged the S&P 500 down to finish the session in the red for the year as Wall Street headed into the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 211.10 points, or 1.62 per cent, for an unofficial close at 12,799.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index tumbled 22.93 points, or 1.59 per cent, ending unofficially at 1416.77 and the Nasdaq Composite Index sunk 34.66 points, or 1.33 per cent, to unofficially close at 2562.15.
- NZPA
