Investor reaction to an update from Air New Zealand last month has pushed the company's stock to its lowest level in more than two years - and it is still searching for the runway with shares closing down 1c yesterday at 88c.

Equities on both sides of the Atlantic dropped overnight on disappointment the European Central Bank won't be boosting its bond purchases to help ease the euro zone's fiscal crisis.

Stocks were mixed overnight as investors weighed a round of warnings by credit rating agency Standard & Poor's in two days that would boost borrowing costs throughout the euro zone.