Sanford leads NZ shares lowers

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 97.66 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,830.03. Within the index, 28 stocks declined, 14 rose and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $138.4 million.

One-hundred-year-old fishing firm Sanford had the day’s biggest fall, after running into trouble with China's customs authority.

The customs authority suspended imports from a Sanford site after it raised “a number of queries” following a video audit of Sanford's Havelock mussel processing facility.

Sanford said it does not expect this to have a material impact on sales, but the firm’s share price dropped 5.1 percent to $4.65.