* Miners fall most in nearly two weeks
* Afterpay drops over 5%, leads losses in tech sector
* NZ GDP posts sharpest quarterly contraction in Q2 (Updates to close)
By Deepali Saxena
Sept 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended more than 1% lower on Thursday, pressured by heavy losses in miners as iron ore prices tumbled for a third consecutive day, while New Zealand slipped as it entered its deepest economic slump on record.
The benchmark ASX 200 .AXJO fell 1.2% to close at 5,883.2, while the mining index .AXMM dropped 2.4%.
Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX slumped 6.4%, while global miners Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX and BHP Group BHP.AX fell 3.4% and 1.8%, respectively, as iron ore futures DCIOcv1 continued to drop on rising supply concerns due to a less than expected pickup in steel demand from China, Australia's largest trading partner. IRONORE/
"There are some demand concerns," said James Tao, a market analyst at CommSec, pointing to potentially lower demand for Australia's iron ore.
The coronavirus crisis is leaving considerable damage with New Zealand posting a record 12.2% quarter-on-quarter contraction in the three months to June due to lockdowns, while a surprise fall in Australian unemployment rate laid bare the impact on young job seekers. the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero until inflation is on track to overshoot the central bank's 2% target.
Tech stocks .AXIJ dropped 3%, tracking a selloff in their U.S. peers. .N
"There weren't as many positive surprises to come through from the commentary from the U.S. Fed chair or some kind of further stimulus that the central bank can provide," Tao said.
Shares of buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay APT.AX slumped 5.4%, while aerial imagery tech maker Nearmap NEA.AX lost nearly 4.5%.
Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 reversed course from early gains, slipping 0.3% to finish the session at 11,777.13.
Mercury NZ MCY.NZ and Spark New Zealand SPK.NZ were the biggest percentage laggards on the benchmark, sliding over 3% and 2%, respectively.
Economists expect New Zealand to bounce back faster than other nations, who are still struggling to contain the coronavirus.