KEY POINTS:
Jewellery retailer Michael Hill International shone after a profit upgrade on a generally weak New Zealand sharemarket today.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index was down 7.4 points to 3704.3 by 10.10am.
The local market got a bad steer from Wall Street which fell on fresh concerns about credit markets.
MHI shares rose, 14c, or 14 per cent, to 116 after it said it expected to post a 30 per cent higher first half profit of between $19.25 million to $20m.
It said sales from both new and existing stores were strong and accounted for the higher profit. Cost reductions had also helped.
Auckland Airport was down 3c to 271 after it said an unidentified third party withdrew from talks about a possible takeover.
Market leader Telecom was down 1c to 410 while Fletcher Building was down 2c to 993.
No.3 stock, Contact Energy, was up 1c to 787, continuing to benefit from the dry summer and rising power prices.
Sky City was down 7c to 428 while PGG Wrightson was up 4c to 210 and TrustPower was up 4c to 772. Steel & Tube fell 10c to 390.
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In the US, stocks ended lower after brokerages downgraded banks and credit card companies on signs consumers are falling behind on debt payments, suggesting yet another pillar of the economy is shaky.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 109.17 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 12,634.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 14.54 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 1380.88 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 30.5 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 2382.85.
- NZPA