Blue-chip stocks Meridian, A2 lead market lower
The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 74.74 points, or 0.7 percent, to 11,067.12. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 19 rose, and six were unchanged. Turnover was $137.1 million.
Stocks across Asia fell after China said gross domestic product grew at an annual 6 percent pace in the third quarter, its slowest pace in almost 30 years and falling short of economists' 6.1 percent forecast. China's Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.6 percent in afternoon trading, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index also fell 0.6 percent, and Singapore's Straits Times Index declined 0.4 percent.
Meridian, New Zealand's biggest listed company, led the local market lower, down 2.2 percent at $5.28 on a volume of 2.9 million shares, more than its 90-day average of 1.4 million. It's been the best-performing stock on the NZX50 so far this year, up 56 percent, with investors attracted to the reliable dividend income in a low interest rate environment.
Among other blue-chip stocks, A2 was down 2.1 percent at $13.07, Ryman Healthcare declined 1.8 percent to $13.30, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare decreased 1.3 percent to $18.75 and Contact Energy slipped 1.2 percent to $8.45 on a volume of 2.8 million shares.
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