The NZX-50 has fallen 23% in value since January 4, including 12% last month.
It closed last night down nearly 2.2% at 3094.
The last time the market was at 3000 was May 20, 2005.
In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 166 points, or 1.46%, yesterday.
The leading index is down more than 15% for the year so far.
Soaring oil prices, a lingering housing market slump and a credit squeeze have dragged down US share markets heavily in recent months.
The Western markets were all down but the Asian markets, including those in Japan, Hong Kong and China, were up in late trading.
ABN Amro Craigs broker Chris Timms said the blue chip stocks of Contact Energy, Fletcher Building and Telecom were among the hardest hit.
Those stocks were held by overseas investors and as they became nervous about the state of markets, they sold up and took their money home.
United States markets trade for only half a day today as they prepare for the July 4 public holiday.
"With half-day trading in the US and the holiday on Friday, we won't be getting a lead from there.
For the next couple of days, I expect us to drift aimlessly," Mr Timms said.
Investors were struggling to be enthusiastic about anything in the markets, he said.
Asked if he felt people were finding it hard to find the money to invest as the cost of living became higher, Mr Timms said households looking for cash often turned to selling their shares when times got tough as they were a liquid investment.
"But as always, the pendulum will swing too far," he said.
The US dollar hit a two-month low against the euro after a report the previous day showed US private employers cut 79,000 jobs - the most in nearly six years - and the Dow sank into bear market territory.
The news reinforced investors' doubts about whether the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates very soon despite inflationary pressures from surging oil prices, and it dragged the dollar lower.
The euro, by contrast, was supported by market expectations for the European Central Bank to raise rates by 25 basis points to 4.25% at a policy meeting today and possibly further beyond that.
"Reasons to sell the dollar are lined up," a trader for a Japanese trust bank said on a market website.
Today, the US Government is expected to reveal a report that shows non-farm payrolls fell by 60,000 positions during June after employers laid off 49,000 workers in May.
If correct, US markets are expected to fall further today in response.
