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The New Zealand sharemarket slipped in early trading, after stocks tumbled late in the United States as investors worried about the fate of the auto bailout.
In this country Hellaby Holdings was down 20c, or 13.8 per cent, to $1.25 after the company warned of the risk its annual group trading surplus before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and before one-off transactions could be between $30m - 36 million.
That compares with $40.6m in the previous financial year, including results from the discontinued operations of BBQ Factory.
Telecom was down 2c early to $2.38 and Fletcher Building shed 7c to $5.76, and Contact Energy was down 2c to $6.85.
The direction was not all down with retailer Hallenstein Glasson up 4c to $2.30, NZ Oil & Gas up 3c to $1.28, and Ryman Healthcare also up 3c to $1.47.
The benchmark NZX-50 index was down 8.36 points to 2718.35, not long aft4er opening after rising 15.2 points yesterday.
Among stocks falling 2c, Auckland Airport was down to $1.68, Port of Tauranga slipped to $6.08, and Trustpower to $7.15.
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In the US, stocks fell on dimming prospects for a federal bailout of Detroit's Big Three automakers, while bleak comments about the banking sector from JPMorgan's chief executive hit financial shares.
But energy shares gained after the International Energy Agency forecast global oil demand will rebound next year, sending crude oil up nearly 9 per cent to US$50.04 a barrel.
The Dow Jones industrial average provisionally closed down 2.2 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index sank 2.9 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.7 per cent.
- NZPA
