Market close: Sharemarket rises on positive GDP news
17 Dec, 2020 04:35 AM
4 minutes to read
Auckland International Airport climbed 16c to $8.06. Photo / File
NZ Herald
By: Graham Skellern
A combination of intrigue surrounding leading stock a2 Milk s trading halt and an impressive rebound in economic growth spurred the New Zealand sharemarket to further gains. The S&P/NZX 50 Index climbed 59.78 points or 0.47 per cent to 12,888.77, after reaching an intraday record high of 12,946.83. Trading was solid with 47.7 million shares worth $175.29 million changing hands, and there were 92 gainers and 44 decliners over the whole market.
The country came out of recession with a 14 per cent increase in gross domestic product (GDP) for the September quarter following two successive contractions – and this added a positive tone to the market. The economic growth meant the national GDP was up 0.4 per cent year on year, ahead of Australia, Britain, United States and OEC