New Zealand shares closed 0.67 percent lower on Tuesday in light pre-holiday trading following falls on Wall Street, dealers said. News that the economy shrank 0.4 percent in the September quarter, stretching New Zealand's recession to a third quarter, was expected and had little impact, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 18.01 points to 2,661.74 on thin turnover worth 36.8 million dollars (21.2 million US). Falling stocks outnumbered rises by 50 to 30. Market leader Telecom fell a cent to 2.25 dollars, Contact Energy lost 14 cents to 6.91, and Fletcher Building was down 13 cents at 5.97.