NZ's market flat as Ebos impresses market and Spark disappoints

The RBNZ lifted the official cash rate (OCR) by a widely expected 50 basis points to 4.75% this afternoon and said it was too early to assess the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent severe weather events. 

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 7.3 points, or 0.06%, to 11,794.22. Turnover was $147.4 million.

Mark Lister, an investment director from Craigs Investment Partners, said the market had expected the 50bp hike. Rates were likely to go higher before they started softening further down the line this year, he said, with the larger focus now on how NZ’s economy was going to recover from recent disasters.

“I feel sorry for the Reserve Bank as people are looking for answers from them and they're just not in a position to have all of the answers just yet because it's still early days,” he said.