NZ shares bounce from omicron sell-off

The S&P/NZX 50 Index bounced 187 points, or 1.5%, to 12,718.91, recouping almost all the lost ground since Friday. Turnover was $897 million, due to the portfolio rebalancing.

Jeffrey Halley, a market analyst at Oanda, said investors had stepped in to “buy the dip” overnight as some judged the reaction to omicron had been overdone.

“It hasn’t been a complete reversal by any means, as the world settles into a choppy holding pattern,” he said.

BNZ strategist Jason Wong said the fear that enveloped markets late last week had subsided a little but wasn’t gone altogether.