NZ sharemarket catches Wall Street’s New Year hangover

The S&P/NZX 50 Index had a generally weak trading session and closed at 11,730.13, down 40.36 points or 0.34 per cent after reaching an intraday low of 11,695.01.

Mark Lister of Craigs Investment Partners said it was unsurprising the market was off the boil given the negative leads from overseas markets following such a strong rally at the back end of last year.

“Even our market rallied almost 9.5 per cent in those last two months, finishing the year with a nine-week winning streak. You’d have to go back four and a half years to find the same sort of run.

“Against that backdrop, no one is going to be too surprised by a bit of weakness to start the year off. It’s also a quiet time in terms of turnover and activity.”