NZ sharemarket flat as Restaurant Brands' shares plummet

Following a weak Wall Street over the weekend, the S&P/NZX 50 fell sharply at the opening and trod a rocky pathway to close at 11,934.24, down 8.96 points or 0.08%. The index reached an intraday high of 11,943.2 points.

With a public holiday in New South Wales, trading on the Australian and NZ markets was light. There were 63 gainers and 63 decliners on the NZX with volumes of 19.4 million share transactions worth $69.79m.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the local market had a slightly negative feel given the moves on Wall Street.

“Restaurant Brands delivered a double whopper of an earnings downgrade (down by nearly 50%). The company is in a classic squeeze – they have been putting through price increases but insufficient to offset rising input costs of ingredients and wages,” he said.