Market close: Energy stocks drag down NZ sharemarket
20 Apr, 2021 05:38 AM
4 minutes to read
By: Graham Skellern
The New Zealand sharemarket gave up some of its recent hard-earned gains, led down by the energy stocks hit by dry weather in both the North and South Islands.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 89.28
points or 0.7 per cent to 12,678.55, and the index did stage a late recovery after reaching an intraday low of 12,574.25. There were 51 gainers and 94 decliners over the whole market, with 52.36 million shares worth $197.88 million changing hands.
Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said "the question is, do markets keep on running? The corporate earnings outlook is reasonable without being outstanding, and it depends on whether central banks will maintain their present monetary policy with inflation starting to creep in."