NZ stocks open 1.2 percent lower

WELLINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - New Zealand's benchmark stock index opened down 1.2 percent on Monday, as it followed Wall Street's sharp decline.

The benchmark NZX-50 index .NZ50 opened down 43.6 points at 3,504.52, its lowest level since mid-April.

Top stock Telecom Corp (TEL.NZ) was six cents lower or 1.6 percent at NZ$3.80, while the number three stock Fletcher Building Ltd (FBU.NZ) fell 25 cents or 3.3 percent to NZ$7.30.

U.S. stocks plunged on Friday, posting their biggest fall in 15 months, after data showed unemployment jumping the highest in 22 years and oil prices surged to record highs.

The double blow, which raised the spectre that the U.S. economy may face 1970's style stagflation, sent investors rushing out of stocks to safe haven bonds.

The benchmark Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 394.64 points or 3.13 percent to close at 12,209.81, its biggest drop since February 2007.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index .SPX slipped 43.37 points, 3.09 percent, to 1,360.68. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 75.38 points or 2.96 percent to 2,474.56. (NZ$1=$1.30)