Shares on the New Zealand stock exchange have taken a tumble today, with the market down 1.7 per cent.
The benchmark NZX-50 is down 45 points to 2567.
Top stock Telecom has fallen nearly 5 per cent, down 5 cents to $2.37, while Contact Energy shares have fallen 25c each to $5.70 - a 4.2 per cent fall
Fletcher Challenge shares have not been hit as hard, falling less than 1 per cent, down 5 cents each to $6.10.
US stocks were hammered overnight by fears that as the earnings season kicked off companies will show they struggled in the first quarter as the recession dragged on.
After the worst fourth-quarter earnings season on record, investors were expecting another round of poor profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.3 per cent to 7789.56, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 2.4 per cent to 815.55, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 2.8 per cent to 1561.61.
HERALD ONLINE
Shares falling, NZX down 1.7pc
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