New Zealand shares closed lower on Friday as Asian markets tracked losses from Wall Street's Thursday trading session.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.5% or 61.62 points to close at 13,989.99.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.4%.

In domestic news, New Zealand recorded a goods trade deficit of NZ$257.5 million in February, compared with a deficit of NZ$626.8 million in January, Stats NZ data showed.

Further, New Zealand's total vehicle registrations were 4.7 million in February, a decrease of 19,668 from the previous month, covering both six and 12-month licensing periods, data from Stats NZ showed.

Meanwhile, New Zealand job ads have been gaining momentum with a further month-on-month increase of 0.9% in February compared with 1.1% in January, according to a BNZ-Seek report.

Also, credit card spending in New Zealand decreased by 1.4% month on month to NZ$4.25 billion in February after a 1.5% increase in the previous month, while credit card balances fell 0.1% to NZ$6.19 billion in February, data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed.

In corporate news, Santana Minerals (ASX:SMI, NZE:SMI) said its share purchase plan was completed, raising around AU$4.1 million.

Genesis Energy (ASX:GNE, NZE:GNE) completed its NZ$300 million 1-for-7.9 pro-rata renounceable rights offer, securing strong investor backing with nearly 81% uptake, including participation from the New Zealand government, which maintains its 51% majority stake.