Market Close: Oil up, markets down

Thursday 3rd July 2008

The sharemarket plunged -2.18% today extending its losses for the fifth consecutive trading session, on the back of higher oil prices in the US.

The most actively traded stock, with over 15.1 million shares changing hands was Telecom NZ, closing the day down 3% to end at $3.28. The next biggest trader was Kiwi Income Property Trust at $1.18 with over 5.0 million shares being traded. Falls outweighed rises by 93 to 26, with the Dorchester Pacific giving back some of yesterday's gains ending down 13% to 20c, while the star of the day was Sealegs Corporation Ltd up 8% to 41c.

The second-ranked Contact Energy lost 2.2% to $7.71 and Fletcher Building dropped 1.7% to $6.21. In the retail sector Hallenstein Glasson plunged 4.2% to $2.50, Pumpkin Patch fell 2.1% to $1.40 and The Warehouse Group tumbled 4.1% to $3.77. Michael Hill closed unchanged. Among energy stocks, Vector closed flat, while TrustPower plummeted 3.7% to $7.40.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index lost 96.5 points, or 1.89%, to 4998.3. This is the first time since September 2006, that the index has closed under 5000 points, when it ended at 4983.2.

The U.S. market fell overnight, as data on May factory orders was the weakest in three months and oil prices touched record highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 166.75 points, or 1.46%, to 11,215.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 23.39 points, or 1.82%, to close at 1,261.52, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 53.51 points, or 2.32%, to 2,251.46.

NZ Top 50	3,094.418	-68.968 (-2.18%)
ASX 200	4,998.300	-96.500 (-1.89%)
Dow	11,215.51	-166.75 (-1.46%)
Nasdaq	2,251.46	-53.51 (-2.32%)
FTSE 100	5,426.30	-53.60 (-0.98%)

NZX TOP 50
As at: 3/07/2008 5:34pm
CODE	LAST	+/-
AIA	1.90	-0.05
AIR	1.12	+0.01
AMP	8.15	-0.17
ANZ	23.14	-0.10
APN	3.90	0.00
APT	1.13	-0.02
CAV	2.27	-0.03
CEN	7.71	-0.17
EBO	4.20	-0.04
FBU	6.21	-0.11
FPA	1.89	-0.05
FPH	2.25	-0.10
FRE	2.90	-0.05
GFF	1.75	0.00
GMT	1.18	-0.03
GPG	1.38	-0.01
HLG	2.50	-0.11
IFT	1.77	-0.09
IMP	1.11	-0.01
ING	0.90	+0.01
KIP	1.18	0.00
LNN	10.53	-0.03
MFT	6.25	-0.10
MHI	0.75	0.00
MVN	1.50	0.00
NPX	4.95	-0.15
NZO	1.69	-0.12
NZR	6.85	-0.14
NZS	1.82	+0.02
NZX	7.35	-0.10
PFI	1.17	0.00
PGW	2.55	-0.02
POT	6.40	-0.25
PPL	1.40	-0.03
PRC	2.20	-0.20
RAK	2.83	-0.05
RYM	1.65	-0.01
SAN	5.17	-0.01
SKC	3.01	-0.09
SKL	0.82	-0.01
SKT	4.07	-0.13
STU	2.50	-0.02
TEL	3.28	-0.11
THL	1.35	-0.05
TLS	5.34	+0.04
TPW	7.40	-0.28
TWR	1.92	0.00
VCT	1.93	0.00
WBC	24.50	0.00
WHS	3.77	-0.16

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