MARKET CLOSE NZ shares fall as US, China in focus; GPG, WBC, NZOG drop

MARKET CLOSE NZ shares fall as US, China in focus; GPG, WBC, NZOG drop
May 23 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand shares fell as the prospect of a winding down of US stimulus and weak Chinese manufacturing weighed on equity markets across Asia. Guinness Peat Group dropped after signalling a delay in its transformation strategy. Westpac Banking Corp led lenders and insurers lower. The NZX 50 Index fell 21.122 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4589.059. Within the index, 37 stocks fell, eight rose and five were unchanged. Turnover was $189 million. Stocks were weaker across Asia after HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index showed...