NZ sharemarket falls 1%

The S&P/NZX 50 Index battled gamely on light trading to close at 11,804.84, down 111.94 points or 0.94%.

The previous largest single-day fall was 1.07% on Nov 16. There were 104 decliners and just 35 gainers on the main board, with 21.04 million shares worth $80.22m changing hands.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 1.68% to 7,622.1 points at 6pm NZ time. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index was down 1.64% to 16,328.74 points, and the Japanese Nikkei 225 had declined 1.81% to 38,522.37.

The sharp falls have come from increased volatility created by rising bond yields and worries over the Middle East conflict.