Shares fall as credit worries are rekindled

By NZPA

Tuesday 6th November 2007

New Zealand shares fell in early trading in delayed reaction to a rekindling of credit concerns that sent many markets around the world south yesterday.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 18.0 points to 4123.2 at 10.20am. Turnover was light at $28 million with 11 rises and 23 falls.

Top stock Telecom was down 5c to $4.12. It received bad publicity in having its internet service, Xtra, rated worst in a broadband user survey.

Among the other majors, Fletcher Building was down 10c to $11.40 after losing 18c yesterday, and Contact Energy was down 1c to $8.95.

Takeover target Sky City was up another 2c to $5.49 after gaining 8c yesterday on no specific news.

The Warehouse fell another 4c to $5.50 to add to yesterday's 11c loss as investors apparently tried to second guess a court appeal by Foodstuffs and Woolworths to overturn a Commerce Commission ban on takeover bids for the Red Sheds.

Rakon, also hit yesterday with a 9c fall, dropped another 8c to $5.30 today.

Goodman Fielder was down 5c to $2.50.

On Wall Street, US stocks pared losses to trade nearly flat, with the Dow briefly trading in positive territory as financial shares came off their worst levels of the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 9.10 points to 13,586.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 2.24 points to 1507.41 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.66 points to 2804.72.

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