MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall on global selloff, Air NZ, Auckland Airport and Tower decline

New Zealand shares fell from a record high as mixed results from the US reporting season weighed on global equity markets. Air New Zealand, Auckland International Airport and Tower declined.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 40 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,866.1. Within the index, 21 stocks fell, 20 rose and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $241.8 million.

Stock indexes across Asia fell, taking their lead from Wall Street overnight, where stocks fell for the first time in four trading sessions after disappointing results from Alphabet and Microsoft. At 5:15pm New Zealand time, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was 0.6 percent lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng had fallen 0.8 percent and China's SSEC was down 0.5 percent.

"It's been a reasonably weak day, markets across Asia followed global markets lower and we have been one of them," said Michael Milne, investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. "When company news is thin on the ground we can tend to follow the rest of Asia. There might just be a bit of profit taking today too."

The NZX 50 has risen 2.3 percent this month and hit a record high of 6,906.1 yesterday. It's been seen as attractive by domestic and international investors looking for yield, with a number of companies paying relatively appealing dividends.

Air New Zealand led the index lower, down 3.8 percent to $2.78.

The airline released its monthly investor update yesterday, saying it carried 1.8 percent more passengers in March than a year earlier. However, short-haul passengers only increased 0.7 percent, which it said was because March 2015's passenger numbers were elevated due to the Cricket World Cup which was hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand. It dropped 1.7 percent yesterday, and Milne said today's fall could be "a bit of a hangover" from that update.

Auckland Airport fell 2.1 percent to $6.405. Its monthly traffic update showed a 7 percent uptick in passengers in March, with particular growth in visitor arrivals from North and South America. Milne said there could be some profit taking on the stock, which has gained 13.7 percent this year.

Tower fell 1.7 percent to $1.77 and SkyCity Entertainment Group dropped 1.6 percent to $5.07.

Units in the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund, which give holders access to Fonterra Cooperative Group's dividend stream, rose 2.1 percent to $5.95. Dairy product prices increased for a second straight auction on Wednesday, posting the third gain in the eight GlobalDairyTrade auctions held so far in 2016, with the uplift on whole milk powder greater than the market expected, and the Fonterra Fund has gained 4 percent since then.

NZX rose 2 percent to $1.03, Port of Tauranga lifted 1.9 percent to $19.20, and Sky Network Television gained 1.6 percent to $5.17.

(BusinessDesk)