NZ sharemarket falls early

The New Zealand sharemarket fell to its lowest level in 10 months in early trading.

Shares in Mainfreight fell 14c to $5.85 after it reported a 2.5 per cent rise in full-year net profit, while total sales fell by 10.5 per cent.

Around 10.30am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 19.22 points to 2991.97, having gained 7.4 points yesterday.

Telecom slipped 2c to $1.88, having closed up 5c yesterday after reaching a record low $1.85 on Tuesday.

Contact Energy was up 6c to $5.92, Nuplex added 2c to $2.99, and Ebos Group lifted 2c to $6.02.

Sanford lost 19c to $4.27 after yesterday reporting a 79.4 per cent fall in interim profit, with a 19 per cent decrease in sales revenue reflecting lower prices for some species, the impact of a higher exchange rate and lower volumes of some species.

Cavalier Corp fell 4c to $2.20, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 4c to $3.21, NZX dropped 5c to $1.60, and The Warehouse lost 8c to $3.45.

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In the United States, Wall Street staged yet another late-day reversal to end lower as news suggesting China was reassessing its euro-zone debt holdings pushed investors into profit-taking mode.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.7 per cent to 9974.45 - dropping below 10,000 for the first time since February 8, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.6 per cent to 1067.95, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.7 per cent to 2195.88.

- NZPA

NZS