KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand share market awoke this morning with a slight hangover, following yesterday's big day.
Yesterday the 150 basis point cut in the official cash rate to 3.5 per cent looked to be good news for equities, which look relatively more attractive investments in comparison to fixed interest, and the market opened up more than 1 per cent.
But this morning the glow had worn off and the benchmark NZX-50 index, which closed yesterday at 2770.118, initially lost ground, before being pulled up to be .621 points higher, or 0.022 per cent, at 2770.739.
Contact Energy's increase of 7c, or 1.04 per cent, to $6.80 was the main reason, with the only other major stocks gaining ground being Sky City, up 1c to $3.03, and TrustPower, up 1c to $7.45.
Meanwhile, Telecom lost 1c to $2.65 and Fletcher Building lost 2c to $5.50. Restaurant Brands lost also 1c to 64 and Fisher & Paykel Healthchare lost 3c to $3.30.
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In the United States stocks tumbled on Thursday, derailing a four-day run-up in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as investors worried that the recession was deepening after a fresh wave of bleak labour market and housing data.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 180.17 points, or 2.15 per cent, to 8195.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 22.68 points, or 2.59 per cent, to 851.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 40.17 points, or 2.58 per cent, to 1518.17.
- NZPA
