NZ stocks fall amid global volatility

China's purchasing-managers index (PMI) fell to 49.7 in August from 50 in July. Photo / AP

NZX 50 Index drops 1.2 per cent after renewed economic fears over China spark international market rout.

New Zealand investors should prepare for ongoing market volatility, analysts say, after renewed fears about the state of China's economy sparked another international stock rout.

The NZX 50 closed down 1.2 per cent at 5590.2 yesterday following a plunge on Wall Street overnight that saw the S&P 500 index fall almost 3 per cent.

Investors were reacting to a survey that showed a contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity, adding to concerns about the outlook for global growth.

China's purchasing-managers index (PMI) fell to 49.7 in August from 50 in July.

NZX 50 decliners included Air New Zealand, which closed down 2.8 per cent at $2.405 last night, and Sky TV, which fell 2.8 per cent to $4.79.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 4.4 per cent at the open yesterday before recovering to be down only 0.9 per cent at 6pm (NZ time).

Rickey Ward, New Zealand equity manager at JBWere, said the Chinese PMI was further evidence of China's economic slowdown.

"It just confirmed everything that we believed was occurring," Ward said. "To have these material [market] falls just shows the heightened level of uncertainty and probably [puts] question marks over the multiples you're paying in markets at the moment."

The market turmoil has also stoked uncertainty about whether the US Federal Reserve will, as previously expected, raise interest rates in the world's biggest economy this month.

A sharp fall on Chinese stock markets last week sparked panic selling around the world, but most markets recovered lost ground during a rally later in the week.

Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners, said that recovery appears to have been "just a bounce".

"There might be another month or two of volatility before we get a bit of clarity on how the outlook is shaping up," Lister said.

There was much uncertainty about the real economic situation in China, he said.

"People just don't feel that they've got a good handle on exactly what's happening on the ground."

Harbour Asset Management analyst Shane Solly said it was reasonable to expect that the market volatility would continue.

Solly said: "It's pretty rare to see a rapid turnaround in these sorts of events."