KEY POINTS:
A 4.9 per cent fall in the value of Auckland International Airport shares led an early decline on the New Zealand sharemarket today.
Around five minutes after the market's 10am opening the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 21.77 points to 4085.83.
That followed a gain of 23.44 points yesterday when strong offshore markets created some buying in this country.
Early today Auckland airport shares were down 15c to 290, having been down as much as 20c at one point, as doubts arose over a takeover proposal for the airport by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE).
DAE said recent legal proceedings filed by Air New Zealand seeking a judicial review of Auckland Airport's recent aeronautical pricing process constituted a "prescribed occurrence" under the terms of a merger agreement between AIA and DAE.
DAE said if the parties were unable to reach agreement by the end of a five working day consultation period, either party could terminate the merger agreement.
Among early share movements in this country was Contact Energy down 7c to 920, Fletcher Building down 10c to 1170, Hallenstein Glasson down 5c to 455, Mainfreight down 4c to 705, Sky City down 3c to 460, and top stock Telecom down 1c to 420.
Port of Tauranga lost 10c early to 700, having gained 22c yesterday after announcing a 22 per cent rise in annual net profit to $38m, despite losing most of the North Island business of shipping giant Maersk Line during the year.
The early fall in New Zealand shares was also following the lead of US markets.
* * *
In the US, prices fell on mounting concerns that credit market upheaval will erode bank profits and hold back consumer spending.
A big catalyst for the US drop came from Lehman Brothers, which slashed earnings estimates on its investment banking peers, warning about the impact of faltering credit markets on profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.38 per cent, at 13,238.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.42 per cent, at 1457.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.08 per cent, at 2565.30.
- NZPA