KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket stumbled on opening yesterday but largely withstood strongly negative sentiment from Wall St.
Friday's huge spike in the price of oil and an increase in the US unemployment rate saw the Dow Jones index fall by 3.13 per cent, its worst one day fall in 15 months. Other US share indices were off by almost as much.
Unsurprisingly, the New Zealand sharemarket quickly headed south, shedding almost 50 points or 1.3 per cent within minutes of opening.
However, the initial lurch lower was the worst of it. Slight further easing saw the NZX-50 index close 51.59 points or 1.48 per cent lower at 3496.50.
While Wall St may have set the stage for losses around the Asia Pacific region yesterday, the Australian market was closed, making for a quiet session here, said ASB Securities Stephen Wright.
"We're doing better than most of Asian markets that have opened."
Japan's Nikkei stock index sank 2.1 per cent, but markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were also closed for a national holiday.
Meanwhile, Wright believed that Wall St's tribulations this year meant that most "weak holders" on the New Zealand market had already been given ample reasons and opportunities to sell up.
"In the end you're left with fewer and fewer people panicking and getting out."
Consequently the local reaction to Wall St's Friday sell-off here was "very moderate".
Top local stock Telecom barely moved, losing 1c to finish at $3.85.
Among stocks to react yesterday were those exposed to oil prices, either negatively or positively.
Air New Zealand lost 5c to close at $1.12 while New Zealand Oil and Gas rose 3c to $1.60.
Fletcher Building, which is exposed to the US economy through its Formica investment, acquired in the weeks before the credit crunch hit last year, slid 18c to $7.37.
