Mixed to lower opens are forecast Wednesday for the New Zealand and Australia sharemarkets. Traders got a negative lead from Wall Street, which was in modestly lower territory for much of the Tuesday trading session.
In New Zealand, stocks got off to a strong start on Tuesday but were generally unable to hold the gains as the market finished in the red.
The benchmark NZX-50 index declined 5.4 points or 0.2 percent at 3,107.6.
Trading volume was 42.4 million shares valued at NZ$74.3 million, according to the NZ Stock Exchange.
There were 42 issues closing higher, 34 were lower and 41 unchanged.
Among the most heavily traded stocks, Auckland International Airport declined NZ$0.02, AMP NZ Office Trust was up a penny, Contact Energy was down .05, Fletcher Building was down .06, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was unchanged, Goodman Property Trust was up one cent, ING Property Trust was also up a penny, PGG Wrightson was down .03, Ryman Healthcare was unchanged, SkyCity Entertainment was up .03, Telecom Corp of NZ was down .02 and Vector was up one cent.
As for the Australia-NZ dual-listed stocks, Telstra declined .04, Australia and NZ Banking Group was down .01, Westpac Bank was down .19, AMP was down .11 and Pan Pac was flat.
Australia's share market similarly opened higher but closed lower.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped 32.0 points or 0.7 percent to close at 4,685.0 while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 31 points or 0.7 percent at 4,708.2.
Trading volume was 2.93 billion shares worth A$5.04 billion.
There were 465 stocks closing higher, 603 were lower and 383 unchanged.
The major mining companies were unable to sustain gains from earlier in the week. Global leader BHP Billiton declined A$0.23 while rival Rio Tinto fell $1.89. Fortescue Metals was down .12 and OZ Minerals was down .04.
In the gold sector, Newcrest Mining advanced .20 but Lihir Gold was down .04 and Newmont Mining dropped one cent.
Energy stocks were mixed, with Woodside Petroleum managing a gain of .39 while Santos was down .24, Origin Energy was down .11 and Oil Search was down .05.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell .06, Australia and NZ Banking Group was down .01, National Australia dropped .41 and Westpac fell .19.
Retailer Woolworths was unchanged, Wesfarmers was down .51, David Jones was up .03, Harvey Norman was up .03 and JB Hi-Fi rose .22.
Overseas, stocks in the U.S. moved through a lack luster trading session. the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes from November showed an expectation of weak job growth for the coming months.
About 15 minutes before the closing bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 30.16 points or 0.29 percent at 10,420.79, the Nasdaq Composite index was lower by 8.91 points or 0.41 percent at 2,167.12 and the S & P 500 Average was down 1.62 points or 0.15 percent at 1,104.62. Most of the other Asia/Pacific region markets finished lower on Tuesday.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Average declined 96.10 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 9,401.58.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 348.25 points or 1.53 percent at 22,423.14.
The Shanghai Composite index in China was down 115.14 points or 3.45 points to 3,223.53.
India's SENSEX/BSE 30 Index fell 49.10 points or 0.29 percent to 17,131.08.
In Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite index was down 9.53 points or 0.38 percent at 2,471.88.
The KOSPI/Seoul Composite index in South Korea fell 12.63 points or 0.78 percent to 1,606.42.
The Taiwan Weighted Index was up 27.41 points or 0.36 percent at 7,714.56.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.