citymedia.co.nz

New Zealand markets slipped today, but held up better than its Asia Pacific counterparts in stock trading surroundings. Most markets plummeted after ratings agency Fitch downgraded its outlook for Spain to 'negative'. A document issued earlier today by National Bank of New Zealand revealed that business confidence nationwide was down one point from November.

The NZX50 index was down 0.7 per-cent or 22.30 points to 3223.03 today. Craigs Investment Partners adviser Ross Cuthbert said it was a gloomy day for New Zealand stocks.

"The New Zealand market was down 0.55 %, that is a negative day - but in the event you put it in context it is a reasonable day compared to the Asian markets. Australia is down heavily, all of the other Asian markets are down so we have held up better than the remainder of Asia but it was still a negative day for us. However, it is probably worth pointing out that volume through the market has not been sizable today," Cuthbert said. "Normally at this time of year there is a tiny bit of a rally going in to year finish. Regrettably, we are not getting that at the moment, chiefly due to a pessimistic view on the European situation today."

The leading decliner was Australian wealth manager AMP, which dropped five.8 per-cent to $5.35. Fletcher Building was down four.05 per-cent to $5.92. Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Kathmandu Holdings fell 3.9 percents to $2.23.