The New Zealand sharemarket tumbled in early trading after big falls for equities in the United States.
Trouble in the US arose as two major US automakers took a step closer to potential bankruptcy, and a spate of European bank rescues heightened concerns over the financial system's health, putting thebrakes on a recent upturn.
In this country, Fletcher Building slid early, dropping 19c to $6.26 after rising 5c yesterday, while Telecom was down 6c to $2.26 after yesterday's 4c gain.
Contact Energy dropped 6c to $5.80, adding to a 29c fall on light volumes yesterday.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 36 points, or 1.36 per cent, to 2605.99, adding to yesterday's 11.5 point fall.
Other shares to fall early included Pike River Coal, down 7.7c to 79c, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare 6c to $3.20, Sky City 4c to $2.83, NZ Oil & Gas 3c to $1.32, NZX 3c to $6.90, Nuplex 3c to 78c, and Sky TV 3c to $4.12.
The few shares to rise included Hallenstein Glasson, up 5c to $2.15, and Restaurant Brands 1c to 81c.
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In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 3.3 per cent to 7522.02, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index tumbled 3.5 per cent to 787.53, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.8 per cent to 1501.80.
