NZ shares: Moderate early fall on local market

The New Zealand sharemarket managed to record only moderate losses in early trading, after stock exchanges in the United States and Europe tumbled overnight.

Around 10.15am, the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 6.85 points to 2761.33, on top of yesterday's 12.2-point fall.

US and European stocks fell more than 2 per cent after US government data showed the US economy shed more jobs than expected in June, dampening the outlook for an economic turnaround.

The Labor Department said US employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 per cent from 9.4.

The European Central Bank also reported that unemployment in the euro zone hit 9.5 per cent in May, the highest level in 10 years.

Among leading stocks in this country, Telecom lost 1c early to $2.65, Contact Energy was down 1c to $5.75, and Fletcher Building dropped 2c to $6.50.

Other stocks falling early included Sanford, down 9c to $5.30, NZX down 5c to $7.40, Freightways down 4c to $2.86, Mainfreight down 3c to $4.17, Steel & Tube down 3c to $2.84, and The Warehouse down 3c to $3.75.

The small number of shares to gain early included Goodman Property Trust, up 2c to 91.

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In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.6 per cent to 8280.74, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 2.9 per cent to 896.42, and the Nasdaq Composite Index sank 2.7 per cent to 1796.52.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 2.6 per cent to close at 843 points.

- NZPA