New Zealand Shares Extend Weakness

The NZX 50 dropped 44 points or 0.36% to 11,988 around midday on Wednesday following Tuesday's losses as Wall Street erased gains and closed lower Tuesday as traders parsed data showing US consumer mood fell to the lowest since last November ahead of remarks from Fed speakers and key inflation report later this week.

Markets moved further away from a ten-month top hit earlier in the week, with vigilance building ahead of March business confidence in New Zealand for March and China's industrial profits for the first two months of the year later today.

Consumers, logistics, electronic tech, and health tech drove the index lower.

Fonterra Co-Op. plunged 5.3% despite solid earnings results for six months ending January.