KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket was down almost half a per cent in early trading ahead of Prime Minister John Key's meeting with five of his economic ministers today.
The ministers will be briefed by senior Treasury officials on the impact the global recession is having on exports and employment.
The NZX-50 index was down 13.834 points, or 0.496 per cent, to 2772.95 at 10.15am, from 2786.784 at close yesterday.
Market leaders led the downward trend. Telecom was down 2c to $2.46. Fletcher Building was down 7c to $5.82 and Contact 5c to $7.40.
Also down were Sky City 4c to $5.41, Freightways 1c to $2.92, Methven 1c to $1.23 and NZ Farming Systems 1c to 58c.
Restaurant Brands was up 1c to 70, Nuplex 12c to $3.15, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare 1c to $3.25 and Tourism Holdings 1c to 71.
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US stocks fell to six-week lows overnight on worries about deeper losses at banks worldwide and as US retail sales data pointed to a deepening recession.
The Dow fell 248.34 points, or 2.94 per cent, to 8200.22; the S&P 500 slid 29.12 points, or 3.34 per cent, to 842.67; and the Nasdaq Composite shed 56.82 points, or 3.67 per cent, to 1489.64.
- NZPA
