KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket took its lead from Wall Street today, continuing to fall, albeit on a more gentle gradient than yesterday.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index, down 1 per cent yesterday, was off another 8.2 points to 3597.4 at 10.15am today. Turnover was light.
Top stock Telecom was up 1c to 371 after taking a 13c battering yesterday.
However, No 3 stock Fletcher Building continued to slump, losing another 9c to 857 after dropping 24c yesterday.
No 2 stock Contact Energy was down 5c to 933 as investors took profits from its recent strong run.
The Warehouse, which on Monday rose 30c as the Commerce Commission returned to court to appeal a High Court decision which cleared Woolworths and Foodstuffs to court the retailer, retreated another 4c to 590 to add to yesterday's 6c loss.
Air New Zealand, lurking around record lows at the start of the week, rose another 2c to 123 to add to yesterday's 3c rise.
Pumpkin Patch, tipped in today's Independent Financial Review as a takeover target because it has fallen so sharply, fell another 2c to 183.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 4c to 270, possibly in response to the lower dollar. In the same category, Cavalier Corp rose 3c to 265.
NZ Oil & Gas was down 3c to 155, as oil prices eased back.
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In the US, Wall Street ended mainly lower as a weak reading on consumer confidence and a survey showing steeper falls in home prices offset the positive impact of a sharp drop in crude oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.81 points or 0.31 per cent to close at 12,831.94.
The Nasdaq managed a gain of 1.70 points or 0.07 per cent to 2426.10, while the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index slipped 5.43 points or 0.39 per cent to end at 1390.94.
- NZPA