Stocks on Wall Street have tumbled to their lowest level in more than a month, as the latest economic data added to speculation that the economy may be heading for a more significant slowdown.
The Dow Jones Index has fallen 144 points, or 1.3%, on Thursday to close at 10,271.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 36 points, or 1.6%, to close at 2178.
European stocks also fell.
Earlier, the Nikkei index in Tokyo ended on 9,362, up 122 points. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed up 49 points, on 21,072.
Across the Tasman, the Australian 200 Index closed 4 points higher to 4479
The NZX 50 gained 11 points, to close at 3029 on turnover of $42 million.
At 8.25am on Friday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 70.75 US cents, 79.29 Australian, 45.37 pence, 60.40 yen and 5520 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 66.14.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US75.58 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1232.75 per ounce.
