KEY POINTS:
The local sharemarket plumbed another three-year low yesterday as a worse than feared domestic inflation number added yet more gloom to a market already hobbled by the realisation the US financial crisis is still in full swing.
While investors early in the session appeared to shake off the negative tone from Wall St, tentative early gains were reversed on the news that domestic inflation hit 4 per cent in the year to June with food price inflation alone hitting 8.2 per cent over the period.
The local broker said the New Zealand market wasn't helped when Australia's ASX slumped as its big banks and financial stocks retreated on growing fears the US financial crisis is far from over and may even worsen.
The benchmark NZX-50 index ended the session 39.65 points or 1.3 per cent down at 3040.45 its lowest close since June 2005.
Turnover at $291 million was unusually large, with much of that due to $206 million worth of Telecom shares changing hands. Telecom held up well, losing just a cent to close at $3.31.
At $38 million turnover was also brisk in Contact Energy which did not fare so well, closing 26c or 3.5 per cent lower at $7.14.
Outside of those two stocks, trading was in "dribs and drabs", the broker said.
Fletcher Building lost 3.2 per cent or 20c to close at $6.05.
The market's biggest losers included included retailer Briscoe Group, down 5c or 5.6 per cent to 85c and Apple computer product distributor Renaissance Corp down 2c or 3.9 per cent to 49c.
Among the Australian banks and financial institutions in the NZX-50 index, ANZ was down 2.5 per cent at $21.85, Westpac was down 3 per cent at $23.67 and AMP was down 5.3 per cent at $7.83 in late afternoon trade.
