KEY POINTS:
New Zealand followed regional sharemarkets lower today, reversing a positive start to the session and reflecting volatility on markets.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 20.19 points, or 0.5 per cent, at a nearly three-month low of 4138.20, on turnover totalling $148 million.
Markets in the region seesawed from gains into decline by the time the New Zealand market closed, and then took off higher again.
A last-minute rally in the United States had provided early upward momentum.
"I guess people are just questioning whether there was a real rally on Wall St overnight or whether there was what we call a dead cat bounce - just some recovery after a few bad days, (but) saying the underlying problems might still be on Wall Street," Stephen Wright of ASB Securities said.
Benchmark indexes around the region have hit record highs in recent months, making them ripe for a pullback. The New Zealand top-50 was about 200 points below its peak in May.
Top stock Telecom fell 2c to 447 ahead of its annual result tomorrow, second-ranked Fletcher Building was down 18c at 1216, and Contact lost 3c to 917.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 5c at 328, F&P Appliances rose 2c to 357, Sky TV lost 4c to 535, and takeover target Auckland Airport was down 2c at 328.
Freightways rose 3c to 397 ahead of its annual result on Monday, while fellow freight company Mainfreight was steady at 740.
Among the handful of other top-50 stocks to gain, Tower rose 2c to 228, PGG Wrightson was up 4c at 181, Guinness Peat Group rose a cent to 187 and Rakon was up 6c at 481.
Children's clothing manufacturer and retailer Pumpkin Patch staged a disappointing reversal to close down 9c at 330, having reached a high of 345 during the session.
Falls outnumbered rises 68 to 40.
Dual-listed stocks were mixed, with ANZ losing 20c to 3065 and Westpac down 7c at 2845, but AMP up 16 at 1117, Lion Nathan 20c higher at 960, and Goodman Fielder up 7c at 282.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 per cent, while Australia's benchmark index was up 62.7 points at 6003, having fallen as low as 5903 today.
Earlier on Wall St, stocks rose in a last-minute rally as investors snapped up shares beaten down by worries over deteriorating credit conditions.
Major stock gauges had zigzagged wildly throughout the session.
- NZPA
