NZ shares: Market wilts after another Wall St fall

12.00pm

The sharemarket was looking battered around the edges this morning after another rough night on Wall St.

Just after 11am the NZSE-40 capital index was down 13.14 points to 2044.17 on $24.3 million turnover.

Offshore, the Dow Jones ended down nearly 2 per cent as US markets floundered around five year lows in a market still unnerved by corporate scandals.

In New Zealand, brokers said the market was moving slowly although that was to be expected between reporting seasons and given the offshore reticience to invest.

"When you get a market where individual stock prices are driven by sentiment rather than fundamentals, that's where money can be made...and investors to do well in this sort of market, need to step out of this current mindset," said JB Were broker Peter Stokes.

"If everyone thinks the same, no one's going to make any money."

Telecom this morning was leading the way, back 6c to 493 on volume of $6.7 million.

Tranz Rail was up another 7c this morning to 240 on low turnover, having risen 18c yesterday after the company promised more information about its financial status next week. Tranz Rail has lost 31 per cent off its market value in recent weeks after a profit warning.

Forestry giant Carter Holt Harvey was down 1c to 193 this morning after posting a higher first half profit after tax of $73 million, compared with a $15 million loss for the same period last year.

Other stocks to move included Auckland Airport down 1c to 417; the Warehouse down 12c to 726; and dental concern Software of Excellence, down 5c to 215 ahead of its annual meeting today.

So far there have been 14 rises and 38 falls on 98 stocks traded.

On Wall St, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 166.08 points to 8,473.11, as investors sifted through corporate reports looking desperately for good news.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 16.99 points, or 1.85 per cent, at 900.94. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 7.36 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 1,375.26, after spending most of the session on the plus side.

- NZPA