NZ sharemarket marks four days of rises

The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded steadily in the afternoon, though it did dip slightly when NZ First and its leader Winston Peters joined the coalition negotiations to form a new government following the wrap-up of special votes.

The index closed at 11,118.92, up 74.48 points or 0.67% and gained 3.24% for the week after four successive days of rises. It was the best week of trading since early July last year. 

The index has now fallen almost 3% this year, an improvement from the decline of 6.2% at the end of last week.

There were 100 gainers and 32 decliners over the whole market, with 26.16 million shares worth $69.12m changing hands.