Flat day for the NZX50 as negative year beckons

The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended the day largely flat, down 2.51 points, or 0.02%, at 12,862.71. Turnover was relatively quiet at $105.8 million across the main board as trading desks wind down for the Christmas break.

In late trading Thursday, the NZX50 was still down 1.45% for the year and “we need a few good days to get to a positive position for the year,” said Grant Davies, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. A positive end would mark 10 years of annual gains. 

Fast-food operator Restaurant Brands posted the day’s biggest decline, down 3.6% at $14.26. Other hospitality operators were also weaker, with Savor siding 13% to 47 cents and Good Spirits Hospitality declining 2.7% to 7.1 cents.

Pacific Edge fell 3% to $1.29, giving back what’s been another strong month for the cancer diagnostics firm, with it up 4.9% so far in December. Stock market operator NZX was another to give up some of December’s gain, falling 2.2% to $1.85.