New Zealand shares were little changed on Wednesday, dragged by the drop of Fletcher Building Ltd.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell, dropping 0.75 points to 8,129.35 at 0042 GMT, after a 0.3 per cent slip early on, Fletcher Building Ltd dropped 5.9 per cent, reports Reuters.
The construction firm plunged to a three-month low after it said its 2018 financial year earnings would be hit by a NZ$160 million ($110.50 million) loss from its building unit.
A2 Milk Company made up for some of the losses on the index, climbing as much as 2.7 per cent to a record high.
Meanwhile, prime minister-designate Jacinda Ardern said that New Zealand First party leader Winston Peters has been appointed as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
Ardern also said on Tuesday that the nation’s new government plans to review and reform the Central Bank Act to possibly include employment, alongside inflation, as a target.
The government will strive to broaden the central bank’s focus to include greater management of the local dollar’s value against other currencies, Ardern added.
