NZ market down 2 pc

By AARON LIM - BusinessDay.co.nz | Wednesday, 08 October 2008

The New Zealand stock market extended losses in afternoon trading, with investors rattled by a fifth consecutive day of losses on Wall Street.

The NZX-50 index was down 63.609 points, or 2.16 per cent, to 2940.582 by early afternoon.

Telecom was down 6c to $2.74, with Flecther Building falling 21c to $6.21.

Contact Energy fell 19c to $7.26. The company announced earlier that it would be downgrading its profit forecast, saying it "does not currently expect to outperform its 2008 financial results".

Dual listed banks continued to be hit hard, with ANZ down 149c to $19.51. Westpac fell 45c to $25.30

Trading volumes were low, with total value of trades at $61,188,643.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index plunged 169 points, or 4.15 per cent to 4427 in early trading, reversing yesterday's late rally after the Australian Reserve Bank announced it would be cutting interest rates by 1 per cent.

Overnight, US stocks tumbled for a fifth straight session, capping the Dow's biggest five-day point loss ever, as fears mounted that the rapidly spreading credit crisis would drag the economy into a deep recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 508.39 points, or 5.11 percent, to 9,447.11. The blue-chip Dow has lost more than 1,400 points over the past five sessions, or nearly 13 percent of its value, according to Reuters data.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 60.66 points, or 5.74 percent, to 996.23 the first time the benchmark index has closed below the 1,000 level in more than five years. The drop was the S&P 500's biggest five-day percentage decline since the 1987 crash.

 The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 108.08 points, or 5.80 percent, to 1,754.88.

-with Reuters