KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket closed lower today after giving up early gains.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 22.921 points, or 0.817 per cent, at 2782.393. There were 37 rises and 48 falls. Turnover was worth $79.35 million.
Brokers said the market rose as the Australian market gained as much as 6.1 per cent on the bank deposit insurance moves in both countries.
But volume was still light and buyers continued to sit on the sidelines assessing the unprecedented financial times.
"Obviously action finally from Europe and America is the way to go because it wasn't much use America just fighting it," Stephen Wright at ASB Securities said.
He said the market started down about 20 points. Gradual improvement by leaders like Fletcher Building, Contact and Telecom took it higher.
"Then a drift off. SkyCity was over $3 at one stage," he said. SkyCity closed down 2c at 291.
Telecom was down 8c at 248. Contact was down 15c at 705 and Fletcher Building was down 1c at 585.
GPG was unchanged at 99. Auckland Airport eased 3c to 167 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare eased 3c to 293.
NZ Farming Systems eased 6c to 109. Mainfreight eased 20c to 510 and Sanford eased 24c to 505. Tourism Holdings was down 9c at 106.
Michael Hill rose 2c to 70 and Infratil 6c to 195. The Warehouse rose 3c to 343. Freightways rose 10c to 300.
The Government's move to guarantee all bank deposits for two years, for banks which opt into the scheme, was welcomed and most banks have opted in.
United States equities ended last week with the Dow Jones industrial index lurching back and forth in a 1000-point range. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was more than double the average of 2008 so far.
On Friday the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.49 per cent to 8451.19, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.18 per cent to 899.22, although the Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.27 per cent to 1649.51.
For the week, both the Dow and the S&P 500 fell 18 per cent, while the Nasdaq slid 15.3 per cent.
- NZPA
