KEY POINTS:
The local sharemarket plumbed new 27 month lows today as it fell for the seventh straight session following another dire session on Wall Street.
In the US, the Dow industrials index sank to the lowest close in three months after slipping below 12,000 for the first time since mid-March.
Worries about a weak US economy compounded credit sector concerns and drove shares of banks, autos and transportation companies sharply lower.
Here, the NZSX-50 index was down 22 points to 3369 at 10.20am.
Turnover continued to be low as investors stayed away from the market.
Market leader Telecom fell 4c to 376 and No 2 stock Contact Energy was down 9c to 835 as was No 3, Fletcher Building, to 675.
Hellaby Investments, up 5c to 160, was one of the few in the top 50 to rise.
Among the falls, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dropped 10c to 223, Trustpower 5c to 795, Sky City 3c to 327 and Fisher & Paykel Appliances, 5c to 208.
A trading halt was lifted on Dominion Finance but its shares remained untraded. Bids were offered at 10c against the previous close of 50c before its shares were suspended when it announced its units were having liquidity problems.
Genesis Research fell 3c to 10c while ProvencoCadmus fell 2c to 28c.
***
In the US, economic bellwether, package delivery company FedEx Corp, forecast dismal profits as rising fuel costs could sap demand.
Adding to the bleak outlook for bank stocks, Fifth Third Bancorp sank 27 per cent after the midwestern bank said it would cut its dividend and needed to raise US$2 billion ($2.7 billion) in capital, stirring fears that the credit crisis was tightening its grip on commercial banks.
The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 131.24 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 12,029.06 - its lowest close since March 17.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 13.09 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 1337.81 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 28.02 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 2429.71.
- NZPA
