NZ Shares: Market tumbles after US plunge

After two sessions with solid gains, the New Zealand sharemarket tumbled early today following steep drops in United States equities.

US stocks extended their slide to 12-year lows as General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy and concerns about the fate of the banking system sped investors' flight from riskier assets.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 18.88 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 2472.52, following gains of 22 points and 51 points in the previous two days.

Among leading stocks Telecom was down 6c to $2.40, Fletcher Building slipped 9c to $5.18, and Contact Energy edged down 1c to $5.50.

Trustpower fell 10c to $7.15, Ebos Group was down 8c early to $4.40, Mainfreight lost 5c to $3.35, Tourism Holdings was down 4c to 50, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gave up 3c to $3.30.

Among the few stocks to gain early, Sky City added 8.2c to $2.63, and Rakon was up 6c to 91.

***

In the US, General Motors shares fell 15.5 per cent to under US$2.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended unofficially down 4.1 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 4.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 4 per cent.

- NZPA