The New Zealand share market eased on Monday, as weaker top-10 stocks, lead by Telecom, pulled the market from the previous week's record high.
Bryon Burke of ABN Amro Craigs said the market was mixed, with a regional holiday in Australia removing some of the turnover, which is generally light on a Monday anyway.
The 17-month old benchmark NZSX-50 Index closed down 11.37 points, or 0.41 percent, at 2,776.65, on turnover of NZ$63 million ($40 million). In contrast, the mid-cap index closed up 0.22 percent at 2,211.12.
Carter Holt fell three cents to NZ$2.18, while the number 3 stock, power generator and retailer Contact Energy, gained two cents to a record NZ$6.04.
Several blue chip stocks fell as the market digested the implications of last week's 25-point central bank rate hike. Fletcher Building fell 11 cents or 2 percent to NZ$4.87, Auckland International Airport shed 12 cents to NZ$6.96, and casino company Sky City lost nine cents to NZ$4.76.
Elsewhere on the market, fund manager and insurer Tower was steady at NZ$1.92, having failed to match its near two-year high of NZ$1.96 set during Friday's session.