KEY POINTS:
Jitters about earnings both here and on Wall Street sent shares tumbling 1.4 per cent in early trading today.
US stocks tumbled heavily as investors fretted over the health of corporate America where major companies began reporting their second quarter earnings amid economic uncertainty.
The share slide swept Wall Street, dragging down financial, technology and aviation stocks amid a broad selloff that pushed the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 2 per cent.
Here, clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson shares slumped 7 per cent, 19c to 250 after it warned its annual profit after tax would fall by around 30 per cent.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index, which yesterday gained half a per cent, was down 44 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 3133.
Other retailers were hit with Pumpkin Patch down 4c to 145 and Postie Plus off 2c to 40c.
Market leader Telecom fell 15c to 336, while Contact Energy fell 2c to 760 and No 3 stock Fletcher Building was down 10c to 663.
Auckland Airport fell 5c to 190, Fisher & Paykel Appliances 4c to 236, and Sky TV 5c to 415.
Scott Technology was down 10c to 100.
Meat company Affco Holdings eased back 2c to 48c after yesterday jumping 5c on news a Singapore-based company wants to buy a quarter stake in Affco-linked dairy processor Dairy Trust.
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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped a hefty 236.77 points (2.08 per cent) to close at 11,147.44. The benchmark index is down almost 16 per cent for the year.
The technology-rich Nasdaq composite index shed 59.55 points (2.60 per cent) to 2234.89 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 29.01 points (2.28 per cent) to a close of 1244.69.
- NZPA
