New Zealand shares fell, joining a downbeat day across Asia as slowing Chinese growth stoked fears that trade tensions will dent the global economy. AMP slumped after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand blocked the sale of its life insurance business.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 34.87 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 10,666.56. Within the index, 22 stocks fell, 24 rose, and four were unchanged. Turnover was $110.4 million.
Australasian stocks were largely weaker as investors fretted over the slowest pace of quarterly growth in China for 27 years, with New Zealand and Australia both reliant on selling exports to the world's most populous nation. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.4 per cent in afternoon trading.
"China's GDP growth is probably the worst we've seen since the early 90s — it's a mixed bag across Asia and we're part of that," said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.
McIntyre said the upcoming earnings season will come under scrutiny because of the slowing Chinese growth, with a particular emphasis on what impact companies anticipate from the US-China trade tensions.