New Zealand share prices closed 0.85 percent lower on Wednesday, led down by bellwether stock Telecom in line with overseas markets, dealers said. The NZX-50 Index ended 30.23 points lower at 3,575.45 on turnover worth 147.70 million dollars (116.61 million US).
It was "another down day, reflecting European and US markets and today all the Asian markets," ASB Securities broker Stephen Wright said. Telecom fell 11 cents to 3.80 dollars on the eve of a presentation by chief executive Paul Reynolds. Wright said Telecom had seen a few days of buying recently, which might have been investors covering short positions, but they were also cautious, given a slowing economy and the cost of the telco's recent reorganisation.
Among other blue chips, Fletcher Building lost 12 cents to 8.30 dollars, while Contact Energy gained six cents to 8.63, and Fisher & Paykel Appliances was down six cents at 2.30. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare ended 12 cents lower of 2.93, off an intra-day low of 2.88 cents after putting out a reduced profit outlook due to the strong New Zealand dollar. Freightways lost 13 cents to 3.42 while Tourism Holdings gained 10 cents to 1.90 and Auckland Airport rose one cent to 2.29.