New Zealand shares ended lower on Tuesday, as a renewed slump in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment across Asia. Crude futures extended falls on Tuesday to retest the $30 a barrel level, as fresh worries about oversupply from top producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq spooked the market. The New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 33 points or 0.5 percent to 6.142.16. The S&P/ASX 200 index as closed for Australia day.
Wellington-based First NZ Capital Broker Philip Hunter said the weaker tone in offshore markets coupled with a holiday in Australia means "it will be very much a day of treading water in New Zealand as investors await developments offshore." Leading the slide was A2 Milk, down 2.7 percent and Trade Me, down 2.6 percent. In both cases, volumes were extremely light. In the other direction, Coats Group was up 2.1 percent. Hunter said with no local drivers the market may just continue to drift down over the session. "We are just going to see a fairly quiet day, albeit it a bit weaker," said Hunter.
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