Stock Market

New Zealand share prices closed little changed on Monday due to the absence of any strong leads locally or from overseas markets, dealers said. The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 1.87 points to 2,469.17 on turnover worth 93.3 million dollars (46.9 million US). There were 49 falling stocks and 33 gainers. Weak residential building data for the December quarter underlined the weakness of the property market and the likelihood the economy probably shrank in the last three months of 2008.