The New Zealand stock market closed lower Tuesday on profit taking following five consecutive sessions of gains. The market opened higher, despite a mixed lead from Wall Street, but lost ground in the afternoon session as investors turned cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed down 12.4 points or 0.4% at 2,844.3 and the broader NZX All Capital index shed 15.4 points or 0.5% to 2,877.6.
In the currency market, the New Zealand dollar fell after the Australian central bank cut interest rates by a larger-than-expected 75 basis points to 5.25%. In late domestic deals, the kiwi was quoted at US$0.5861-0.5867 compared to US$0.5921-0.5927 late Monday.
U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight as investors looked past a weak reading on the manufacturing sector and focused on the presidential election. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.2 points to 9,319.8, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.5 points to 966, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.4 points to 1,726.
Oil extended its losses Tuesday on renewed recession concerns. Light, sweet crude for December delivery dropped 66 cents to $63.25 a barrel after the contract plunged $3.9 to settle at $63.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.
On the economic front, commodity prices in New Zealand hit an eighteen-month low in October, according to the ANZ. The commodity price index fell 7.4% last month from September. Since July 2008, when the ANZ Commodity index reached its peak at 223.5 points, the index has fallen 33.7 points to 189.8 in October.
Among market leaders, Telecom plunged 2.9% and Contact Energy fell 2.7%, while Fletcher Building rose 0.7% and Auckland Airport gained 2.3%.
In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson plummeted 2.9% after the company reported a 7% decline in sales in the first quarter. Among others in the sector, jeweler Michael Hill dropped 2.8% and Pumpkin Patch declined 1.0%, but The Warehouse Group advanced 1.0%.
