NZ stocks: Market down on global fears

The global economic backdrop from hell again eroded confidence in the New Zealand share market, which fell 1.618 per cent today.

Stories about the bailout of insurance giant AIG heightened the fears about the global finance sector and share markets around the world fell.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 40.802 points at 2481.515. Turnover was worth $78 million. There were 26 rises and 63 falls.

"It is not pretty out there," said ABN Amro Craigs senior dealer Bryon Burke.

"The world continues to reel, to disappoint," he said.

Telecom, which went ex-dividend today, was down 12c to 230.

And Guinness Peat, which shocked investors last week with a bad profit result and admission of poor decisions, fell 5c to 55.

But the pressure was on financial stocks as the flow of news from that sector globally continued to spook investors even though Australian banks have high credit ratings.

AMP was down 38c to 585, Westpac was down 70c to 2100 and Tower was down 1c to 137.

Nuplex, which has disappointed investors, was down another 4c to 118.

TrustPower was down 12c to 714 and Contact was down 24c at 571. The media reported at the weekend that a report commissioned by the Commerce Commission will find competition in the sector lacking.

Fletcher Building fell 1c to 523, Lion Nathan fell 3c to 1085 and Auckland Airport fell 1c to 176. Mainfreight fell 4c to 344.

Among the risers were Tourism Holdings, up 10c to 55, and Restaurant Brands, up 4c to 73.

Fishing company Sanford rose 15c to 550.

Fisher and Paykel Appliances rose 1c to 50, and the healthcare stock it was spun out from rose 1c to 335.

United States stocks fell on Friday (local time) after the US government said it will take a large stake in Citigroup's common shares, fanning fears it will increase its role in other major banks.

The decline closed out a grim month on Wall Street, with the Dow industrials hitting the lowest level since May 1997 as the blue-chip index fell for a sixth straight month.

In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 119.15 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 7062.93 on Friday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 17.74 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 735.09, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 13.63 points, or 1 per cent, to 1377.84.

Friday's close marked the lowest level for the S&P 500 since December 1996.

The S&P 500 is down 18.62 per cent since the start of the year, its worst two-month start on record.

US stocks have lost US$10 trillion ($20.4 trillion) since peaking in October 2007.

For the month, the S&P fell 11 per cent and the Nasdaq shed 6.7 per cent. The February decline for the S&P 500 was the second worst on record, after an 18.4 per cent slide in 1933 during the height of the Great Depression.

- NZPA