Wellington  - The New Zealand stock market, hovering around a five-year low, fell 2.5 per cent Tuesday in the wake of the slump on Wall Street following news of the massive loss by insurer AIG.

At the close, the benchmark NZX50 index was down 64 points on Monday's close to 2,418.

A week ago, the index fell below 2,500 for the first time since January 2004.

The New Zealand dollar, which fell Monday to its lowest value for more than six years, recovered from a low of 49.10 US cents to 49.68. (dpa)