KEY POINTS:
Local shares fell mildly in early trading today after stocks were dumped on Wall Street on renewed credit crunch concerns and rising oil prices.
US stocks took a beating as oil prices leapt to record highs and a weak earnings report from Citigroup opened a flood of quarterly results this week.
Here the NZSX-50 benchmark index was down 10.15 points to 4314 at 10.20am, fewer than half the points the index rose by yesterday.
Rises outnumbered falls 14 to 13 among the 50 stocks traded. Turnover was light at $22m.
Yesterday's driving force, Fletcher Building, lost 10c of the 17c it gained to be on 1285.
Market leader Telecom fell 2c to 447 after rising 5c yesterday and No 3 stock Contact Energy, due to announce a major renewable energy project at noon today, was unchanged on 950.
Casino operator SkyCity was unchanged on 530. Its shares were briefly suspended by the stock exchange today as the regulator assessed rumours surrounding the takeover target. In recent days the company has signalled there may be another bidder in the wings, although only one undisclosed suitor is doing due diligence at present.
Among the minnows, Sealegs jumped 3c to 57c on one small parcel of shares traded.
Freight company Mainfreight fell 4c to 700 while exporter Rakon took comfort from the lower currency, to rise 3c to 485.
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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 105.92 points (0.75 per cent) to 13,987.16 and the Nasdaq composite slid 25.63 points (0.91 per cent) to 2780.05 at the closing bell.
The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.49 points (0.80 per cent) to 1549.30.
- NZPA