NZ shares join global decline as trade jitters re-emerge; Gentrack, F&P Health fall

The S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 84.23 points, or 1 percent, to 8,781.53. Within the index, 38 stocks fell, seven gained and five were unchanged. Turnover was $107.1 million.

Stock markets across Asia followed Wall Street lower, with Australia's S&P/ASX index down 1.1 percent in afternoon trading and Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling 1.6 percent. Volatility re-emerged as investors questioned the details about the US-China truce.

US President Donald Trump fuelled that unease when he tweeted his willingness to impose new tariffs if a deal can't be reached. US markets will be closed for a national day of mourning to mark former President George HW Bush's death, which may have exacerbated the 3.1 percent drop on the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight.

"It's not too bad given it was such an ugly day on the Dow," said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners. "For all that, US shares are still up quite a bit from the lows they got to back in October."