Heavyweight exporters fall as dollar rises

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 155.96 points, or 1.3 percent, to 11,937.56. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 17 rose and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $245.3 million, higher than usual as overseas investors re-weighted portfolios on the last day of the month.

The NZX appears to have gained the upper hand in the ongoing battle against overseas cyber criminals that has plagued the exchange since Tuesday last week.

Trading was uninterrupted today, even when the NZX website went offline briefly, holding steady for the quarterly index review of the MSCI Equity Indices, which typically sees large trading volumes as international fund managers reset their portfolios.

The biggest companies were also the weakest on the day, pulling the index back from Friday’s record close.