NZ shares drop to 4-month low following Wall St rout; A2 slumps 11%

The S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 329.62 points, or 3.6 percent, to 8,721.20, its ninth straight decline. Within the index, 49 stocks fell and just Sanford gained, up 0.3 percent to $7.68. Turnover was $138.2 million.

The benchmark index has been on the turn for more than a week as US 10-year Treasury yields rose to a seven-year high as investors firmed up forecasts for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Investors turned that up a notch for equity markets in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 3.2 percent in a period of heightened uncertainty.

The NZX50's decline was steeper than its Australian counterpart with the S&P/ASX 200 index down 2.3 percent in afternoon trading. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 4.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 3.8 percent.

"What's unusual about it is that New Zealand usually does a bit better than Aussie," said Stuart Williams, head of equities at Nikko Asset Management. "That's roughly accountable for the contribution of A2 to our market."