New Zealand shares started the week with a session of losses on Monday, tracking sharp declines from US indexes, as tariff fears caused a global slump in stocks.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.1% or 17.5 points to close at 12,270.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand plans to conduct a reassessment of key capital settings. Acting Governor Christian Hawkesby said consultations on the new Deposit Takers Act revealed claims that RBNZ's bank capital regime is "unreasonably conservative."

Meanwhile, New Zealand business confidence edged down in March in signs that the road to recovery will not be easy, according to a survey by ANZ Research reported on Monday.

Also, New Zealand's housing loans rose 4.1% year on year to NZ$371.87 billion in February, following a 4% increase in January.

In corporate news, Fonterra Co-operative Group (NZE:FCG) named Elizabeth Coutts chair-elect of the Mainland Group, the proposed divestment entity of the dairy company's global consumer business.

Tower (ASX:TWR, NZE:TWR) requested a trading halt as it has been advised that Bain Capital, which owns about 19.9% of the shares in Tower, is seeking offers for its shareholding.