MARKET CLOSE NZ shares slip as China PMI tempers optimism; Fletcher, Telecom fall

MARKET CLOSE NZ shares slip as China PMI tempers optimism; Fletcher, Telecom fall
March 1 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand shares fell, easing the NZX 50 Index from a 5-year high, as a key measure of China’s manufacturing missed estimates and the local market subsided after a month-end flurry. Fletcher Building and Telecom fell. The NZX 50 fell 2.01 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4317.98. Within the index, 18 stocks fell, 25 rose and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $175 million. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index in China, New Zealand’s second-largest export market, fell to 50.1 in February, the weakest in five months, t...