Market responds to 'reporting season show and tell'

The S&P/NZX 50 index was trading steadily until a late afternoon fall and closed at 11,801.49, down 94.55 points or 0.79% after reaching an intraday high of 11,929.06.

The index has fallen 2.84% in the past two trading days, wiping out a lot of the recent strong gains. The index has now gained 2.9% for the year, after earlier reaching 6%.

There were 51 gainers and 77 decliners over the whole market on volume of 39.81 million share transactions worth $142.47m.

David McConnochie, investment adviser with Forsyth Barr, said it was a day of consolidation for the local market, as analysts recalculated earnings forecasts. There were few offshore leads with the United States markets closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday.