KEY POINTS:
The benchmark NZSX-50 index began falling soon after trading opened at the fag-end of a holiday week, finishing the day down 0.8 per cent at 4036 points.
Over a third of the share value traded was in heavyweight Telecom, with 2.455 million shares sold for $10.839 million, and a 7c fall in shareprice to 437c dragged down whole index.
Total turnover for the day was a lacklustre 9.154 million shares, valued at $27.485 million and there were 35 price rises and 27 falls.
But the other shares traded were in relatively low numbers, though 655,637 Pumpkin Patch shares changed hands (valued at $1.637 million) without significant change in the share price.
Despite today's weakness, the market has turned its back on last week's flirtation with year-lows, and put in a strong 65-point Christmas Eve rise.
Blue chips were mixed.
Contact Energy fell 20c to 825 as 298,485 shares were sold for $2.464 million.
Fletcher Building finished where it started, at 1133c, and Auckland Airport fell 1c to 292.
Sky TV fell 6c to finish at 453, despite rising to 600 in early trading, one cent below yesterday's seven-month high.
Among the other movers, AMP Office Trust rose 1c to 119, and Infratil fell a cent to 290.
Air New Zealand gained 2c to 202 despite having disclosed late yesterday that it is one of 25 airlines being probed by the European Union after an investigation into alleged price fixing of air cargo rates and surcharges.
- NZPA