KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket fell for the fifth session in a row yesterday amid nervousness about global credit markets but local commentators remained bullish.
The benchmark NZX50 closed down 1.18 per cent at 3957.9 yesterday, taking losses to 5 per cent in a week.
Hamilton Hindin Green broker James Smalley said while NZX trading had been slightly heavier than normal, there was nothing that would indicate "mass selling".
New Zealand investors did not have a high level of leveraged exposure so things were a lot calmer than offshore markets, Smalley said, referring to Australia's ASX which at one point shed 5 per cent before it recovered to end the day down 1.4 per cent.
The S&P/ASX 200 index has now wiped out gains for this year.
"[Today] was a fairly orderly retreat for people who were selling in the market. I think it's showing that most people are prepared to sit on their hands and wait this out."
Portfolio manager at Mint Asset Management, Shane Solly, said as the dollar dropped over the past month, investors were returning to companies such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare which has great exposure to the US dollar through its export market.
Telecom closed down 6c at $4.21 and Fletcher Building closed down 37c at $11.2.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare closed up 1c at $3.52.
The Australasian markets followed the US lead.
American stockmarkets fell overnight on Wednesday on speculation that the nation's biggest mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, might be bankrupted.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.4 per cent to 1406.70, erasing all of this year's gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3 per cent, to 12,861.47, sending the 30-stock index below 13,000 for the first time since April.
The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 1.6 per cent.
European stocks dropped for a second day, led by banks on concern that the sub-prime mortgage rout will hurt earnings.
- Additional reporting, agencies
