NZ sharemarket down amid Greek debt turmoil

The New Zealand sharemarket's benchmark index fell to a six-week low in early trading today as more signs emerged that fallout from the Greek debt crisis could spread to bigger European economies.

Around 10.15am the NZX-50 index was down 16.32 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 3232.5, having fallen 49.2 points yesterday. In mid-April the index had been at a 19-month high around 3349 points.

Fletcher Building fell 6c early to $8.20, Sky TV dropped 6c to $4.85, Mainfreight lost 4c to $6.45, Nuplex was down 4c to $3.32, and Port of Tauranga shed 4c to $6.92.

Shares falling 3c early included Contact Energy, to $6.18, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare to $3.54, Michael Hill International to 71c, and Rakon to $1.00. Telecom shares were unchanged on $2.15.

***

In the United States, resource and industrial stocks, sensitive to the outlook of global economic growth, weighed on the market. Energy shares were also pressured as the price of oil fell nearly US$3 to US$79.97 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.5 per cent to 10,868.12, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.7 per cent to 1165.87, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.9 per cent to 2402.29.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed down 0.95 per cent, near a nine-week low, despite paring losses slightly on strong results from market bellwethers such as Societe Generale.

In Athens, striking public sector workers challenged Greece's bailout-for-austerity deal. Three people were killed, including a pregnant woman, choked to death when protesters set an Athens bank ablaze.

Policymakers, including International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the European Central Bank's Axel Weber, warned of the dangers of contagion to other high-debt euro zone nations.

- NZPA