European contagion hit world markets yesterday as scepticism that the Greek rescue deal would be enough spread.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 11,000 in a sell-off that echoed a wave of fear gripping financial markets.
European stocks were particularly hard hit, with Spain's IBEX 35 dropping 5.4%, the FTSEurofirst 300 down 3% and Germany's DAX down 2.6%.
Australia opened down nearly 2% and Asian stocks were down in mid-afternoon trading.
Mr Conroy said, when contacted about 4pm, the NZX looked bleak.
At that stage, shares in only three companies had lifted in price.
All others had fallen in value.
At the close of trading, the NZX-50 was down more than 49 points, or nearly 1.5%.
"There is a fear with investors that the Greece factor will spread throughout the European Union.
"I believe Germany will fund the bail-out, but to get the money, Greece has to make some spending cuts. Investors worry Greece can't do that.
"In effect, the belt-tightening required means that a default further down the line can't be completely ruled out."
Adding to the problems, this week's election in the United Kingdom could result in a hung parliament, a further drag on market sentiment until a resolution was found, he said.
For the Australian market, the fall came on the back of a proposed resources rent tax that had major negative implications for mining companies.
"The devil will be in the detail, but an initial study indicates that a number of mining projects will be shelved and exploration will be affected, certainly in the near term."
Mr Conroy's view was that the threats from the European sovereign credit crisis, policy tightening in Australia, New Zealand and in emerging Asia, and regulatory overkill would be trumped by the power of the business cycle and growing corporate profits.
Current events were enough to cause weakness to continue for the near-term, but not in a catastrophic way, he said.
Overseas, the euro tumbled to a fresh one-year low against the US dollar while the US currency rose more than 1% against the Swiss franc and the Australian dollar and Canadian dollar.
The euro has fallen more than 9% against the dollar this year.
Investors poured back into the safe-haven US treasury bills and punished the riskier US and European shares.
US crude oil fell 4% in price yesterday, its sharpest loss in three months in response to the rise in the dollar.
As well as the rising currency, investors sold off their oil stakes in a bid to remove risky assets from their portfolios.
A stronger dollar is usually bearish for oil as it reduces demand for commodities traded in US dollars.
