NZ shares fall as more Commercial Bay delays weigh on Fletcher, Precinct

The S&P/NZX 50 Index decreased 26.85 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,096.47. Within the index, 26 stocks fell, 20 rose, and four were unchanged. Turnover was $151.4 million.

Fletcher fell 2.6 percent to $5.30 on a volume of 2.9 million shares, more than twice its 90-day average of 1.2 million. The country's biggest construction firm was under the spotlight again after Precinct warned the Auckland CBD project was set to open six months later than the previous forecast, potentially adding another $10 million to the $690 million development cost.

"Fletcher's been sold off a little bit today, which is probably a sign of investors reaching exhaustion with this poor update," said Grant Davies, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. Precinct dropped 3 percent to $1.61 on a volume of 1.8 million shares, almost twice its daily average of 945,000.

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units fell 3.4 percent to $4.04, leading the benchmark index lower. Fonterra Cooperative Group shares, which are restricted to its farmers, fell 3.3 percent to $4.05. The Reserve Bank today said it was increasingly concerned about rising dairy farm debt. It said about a third of dairy farms are struggling to turn a profit at current prices.