NZ shares tumble 2.8% to 11-month low after US stock rout

NZ shares tumble 2.8% to 11-month low after US stock rout

New Zealand shares tumbled 2.8% to an 11-month low following a rout in U.S. equities in the first day of American trading after the unprecedented cut to the U.S. credit rating.

The benchmark NZX 50 Index tumbled 89.43 points to 3096.02 when the market opened at 10 a.m., the lowest level since Sept. 2, 2010, and extending the steepest slide on the local bourse since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slumped 6.7% as investors fled stocks for the safety of bonds’ fixed payments.

Australasian foodmaker Goodman Fielder led the decline, falling 6.7% to 98 cents. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which gets more than 50% of its sales in U.S. dollars, shed 6.5% to $2.15.

Sky City Entertainment Group dropped 4.8% to $3.20.

(BusinessDesk)

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