KEY POINTS:
The local sharemarket shed 1.45 per cent in a poor day featuring the veto by government ministers of the Canadian bid to buy a stake in Auckland Airport.
The NZSX-50 was down 51.17 points, or 1.45, to 3488 on turnover of $145.7 million.
"The decision on Auckland Airport helped to lead the market down, and in general all our leaders have come down," ASB Securities broker Stephen Wright said.
Auckland Airport was down 22c to 213 following the announcement that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's offer for 40 per cent of the airport was rejected.
Top-stock Telecom closed down 14c at 358, a 15-year-low thanks to the company's managerial briefing yesterday and general poor sentiment after Auckland Airport's news, Mr Wright said.
"There'll be some people who just think it will be a poor decision (about the airport) and will just sell out of any shares they've got, but most of it will be just momentum building on from the presentation Paul Reynolds (Telecom CEO) did yesterday."
Fletcher Building, which closed up 6c at 820, had earlier reached a two-year-low of 801, Mr Wright said.
Following the leaders Hallenstein Glassons was down 10c to 400, Contact off 3c at 860, Freightways down 5c to 330, Hellaby Holdings down 6c to 179, Infratil 4c lower at 213, Trustpower down 4c to 766, Fisher & Paykel Appliances down 6c to 220 and The Warehouse off 5c at 570.
"It's just right across the board really, the weakness. It's just negative sentiment ... We're just losing all of the gains we made in late March."
Bucking the trend, Tower was up 3c to 202, Sky City up 3c to 392, Kiwi Income Property Trust up 2c to 130 and Guinness Peat Group up 4c to 168.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 recovered earlier losses to be up 0.4 per cent, or 21.7 points, to 5424 in late afternoon trading.
Australian shares were down earlier in the day as Tabcorp Ltd and Tatts Group slid on the loss of a key market for their slot machines when their duopoly in the Victorian market was removed, while weaker oil and metals prices pressured resource firms.
US stocks rose on Thursday after a brokerage upgrade of chip makers lifted technology stocks, and on optimism that poor March sales may have been the low point for retailers this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 54.72 points, or 0.44 per cent, ending the day at 12,581.98.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.06 points, or 0.45 per cent, finishing at 1360.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 29.58 points, or 1.27 per cent, at 2351.70.
- NZPA
