World sharemarkets fall on bad US news

file photo / Paul Estcourt

World share markets have fallen around the world today, dragged down by a 2.2 per cent fall in the Dow Jones industrial average in the US.

The New Zealand Stock Exchange appears to have got off relatively unscathed, with the benchmark NZX50 index currently down 35 points at 3522 - a 0.82 per cent decline.

The Reuters news agency is reporting Japanese shares falling 1.7 per cent on opening, while the Australian's ASX fell 1.5 per cent on opening.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index also fell nearly 1.5 per cent.

In New Zealand, Fletcher Building shares are changing hands at $8.83, a 10c fall, while Telecom shares have fallen 4 cents to $2.39. Contact Energy shares are down 5 cents at $5.85.

Share price falls in the US erased more than a quarter of the stock market's gains for the year.

A pair of reports raised new doubts about the economy's strength and a key manufacturing index fell from its April level.

Financial institutions including Goldman Sachs slashed estimates for US non-farm payrolls growth in May after ADP Employer Services reported growth in private payrolls last month that fell far short of expectations.

US private employers added only 38,000 jobs in May, the lowest since September 2010, according to ADP.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management's index of national factory activity dropped in May, falling to the lowest level since September 2009.

NZ HERALD ONLINE/BUSINESSDESK