18 Jan 2016

NZ sharemarket falls again

2:14 pm on 18 January 2016

The New Zealand sharemarket fell to its lowest level in a month this morning.

The latest fall in the NZ stockmarket follows a huge slide in the US markets oN Friday.

The latest fall in the NZ stockmarket follows a huge slide in the US markets oN Friday. Photo: AFP

The local market today followed last Friday's slide on American markets, which which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 fall 2.1 percent and the Nasdaq shed 2.7 percent.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell more than 100 points - or nearly two percent - this morning, with all but two stocks falling. A short time ago it sat at 6054, down 1.87 percent.

Markets around the world have been rattled by plunging oil prices in recent weeks, with prices hitting 12-year lows last week.

Persistent fears about the outlook for the Chinese economy have been blamed for adding to the uncertainty.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs