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The New Zealand sharemarket has plummeted nearly 5 per cent today, after United States equities had a terrible day due to recession fears.
The benchmark NZX-50 index is down 133 points to 2771, a fall of 4.8 per cent, following a 44.3-point loss yesterday after gaining 167 points on Tuesday.
Today's early sharp fall came as bleak US economic data fed worries that all the efforts to unlock credit markets may not stave off a severe recession around the world.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 7.9 per cent to 8577.91, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index tumbled 9 per cent to 907.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 8.5 per cent to 1628.33.
Top stock Telecom is down 19 cents to $2.25, a nearly 8 per cent fall for the day.
That followed a decline of 14c yesterday, after Telecom announced its mobile capital spending would increase by $391 million during the next two years to $574 million as it rolled out a new mobile network.
Investors are concerned it will be a few years before they see any major payback from the increased investment.
Among other top stocks Contact Energy is down 16c to $7.19 and Fletcher Building is down 39c to $5.84.
In the US, dismal monthly retail sales set the tone for the session, dropping the most in more than three years, while a measure of New York state manufacturing hit its lowest level since the index started in 2001.
- NZPA