0429 GMT - New Zealand's NZX-50 closed 0.5% lower at 12837.40 on headwinds from the recent jump in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield. Market sectors were broadly lower with losses in power utilities, REITs, retirement-village operators and industrials. Baby-formula company a2 Milk also is a handbrake for the market benchmark because of its coming removal from MSCI's New Zealand index, Stuart Williams, head of equities at Nikko Asset Management in Auckland, says. The index is underperforming this year--after averaging double-digit returns in the previous five year--but mid-cap stocks have done well. Agricultural and industrial supplies company Skellerup has gained 71% this year, and cinema-ticketing software company Serko is up 51%. (stephen.wright@wsj.com)