The kiwi dollar dipped below 78 US cents as markets digest the coordinated moves by the world's biggest central banks to cut borrowing costs.

World share markets are down, with worries about Europe overwhelming good economic data from the US.

New Zealand's terms of trade - the amount of imports that can be funded by a fixed quantity of exports - fell in the third quarter, driven by falling prices for primary sector exports and a strong kiwi dollar.

Standard & Poor's has cut the credit ratings of 15 of the world's biggest banks - mostly in Europe and the United States - in the first wave of actions under its new, tougher, ratings criteria.

Six out of 11 analysts who cover Fletcher Building shares have cut their 2012 and 2013 earnings forecasts.

World share markets are up after central banks from Europe, Japan and North America agreed to cut the cost of US dollar funding.

Investors overnight welcomed renewed efforts by European Union leaders to check the escalation of the sovereign debt crisis.