KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand share market dipped first thing this morning, erasing any gains made at the end of trading yesterday.
The benchmark NZX-50 index dropped 18.928 points, or 0.699 per cent, to 2688.663 from 2707.591 in the first few minutes of trading.
Dual-listed stock Goodman Fielder suffered the most, losing 11c, 7.8 per cent, to $1.30.
Others falling in value were, Fletcher Building, down 15c to $6.00, Westpac shed 40c to $18.50, Contact Energy down 15c to $7.05 and Port of Tauranga lost 6c to $6.27.
Those few making gains were Ryman Healthcare, up 2c to $1.45, Kiwi Income Property Trust, up 1c to 98 and Hallenstein Glassons, up 1c to $2.28 despite yesterday predicting a tight 2009.
Another retailer, The Warehouse was also up 2c to $3.60.
***
In the United States stocks fell for the second day in a row after Standard & Poor's threatened to strip General Electric of its 'AAA' credit rating and slumping oil prices crippled energy shares.
General Electric shares tumbled 8.2 per cent and ranked among the top drags on the Dow after S&P said there is at least a one-in-three chance it would cut the company's credit rating from the top "AAA" tier in the next two years.
Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil were the biggest drags on the Dow as oil fell another $4 to settle near $36 a barrel on growing fears of falling demand.
The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 219.27 points, or 2.48 per cent, to end unofficially at 8605.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 19.09 points, or 2.11 per cent, to finish unofficially at 885.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 26.94 points, or 1.71 per cent, to close unofficially at 1552.37.
- NZPA
