The New Zealand sharemarket tumbled in early trade, following the lead of equities in the United States where a gloomy retail sales report revived recent anxiety about the economy.
Fletcher Building shares fell 11c to $6.60 early, following a 4c fall yesterday when $29 million of the company's shares were traded.
Among other leading shares Telecom was down 5c to $2.58, and Contact Energy dropped 3c to 6.02.
Around 10.15am, the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 32.1 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 2779.45, having yesterday just edged down.
Other shares to fall early today included NZ Refining Co, down 10c to $6.70, The Warehouse, down 8c to $3.81, and Steel & Tube down 5c to $2.95.
Shares falling 4c included Tower to $1.60, Pike River Coal to $1.04, NZ Oil & Gas to $1.49, Infratil to $1.63, Hallenstein Glasson to $2.61, Freightways to $3.03, and Hellaby Holdings to 63c.
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In the US, stocks tumbled after sales at retailers fell for a second straight month in April, breaking a string of more upbeat reports that had suggested the economic slump was abating and fueling a two-month rally.
Investors sold off shares across the board. Retailers fell, led by a nearly 5 per cent drop in Target, while manufacturers, home builders and commodity companies stumbled.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.2 per cent to 8284.89, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 2.7 per cent to 883.92, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 3 per cent to 1664.19.
- NZPA
<i>NZ stocks:</i> Sharemarket tumbles early
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