30 Dec 2015

NZ sharemarket ends 2015 on a high

12:07 pm on 30 December 2015

The New Zealand sharemarket has hit a record high.

The NZX 50 reached 6292 yesterday, passing earlier records set at the start of December and broken again just before Christmas, and has risen again this morning to 6300 a short time ago.

sharemarket board

Photo: 123RF

The market has risen 12.5 percent in the past quarter, said Forsyth Barr equities analyst Brian Stewart.

He said this was partly due to falling interest rates but a sliding New Zealand dollar had also helped.

"We had currency coming off for some of that, which would have helped the exporters," he said.

"Tourism numbers are strong so that has helped Auckland Airport, and generally sentiment is strong."

Mr Stewart said a boost also came from overseas as well as cyclical matters.

"We had quite a big selloff in August and there were some Chinese concerns and concerns about the US starting to tighten (monetary policy)," he said.

"That has now washed through, and essentially all that news is out there and people are starting to focus on earnings."

Mr Stewart said in the wake of the latest rise, the market over the next year should be more average, with single digit returns likely.

The Australian sharemarket has also been performing well.

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