Sharemarket closes down on very low volumes

Buyers sat on the sideline as the S&P/NZX 50 Index slid in the afternoon and closed at 11,880.56, down 50.03 points or 0.42% after reaching an intraday high of 11,937.4.

The index finished the week slightly ahead and it has risen 3.5% so far this year. Only 20.09 million shares worth $76.69m changed hands, and there were 77 gainers and 60 decliners on the main board.

Jeremy Sullivan, an investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the local market has been somewhat mixed on light volumes. Inflation data (the March consumer price index) out next week will be key for the direction of the market.

“Japan has told the G7 that it will continue printing money – it has been doing it for 15 years – because it is worried about deflation. That is going to be a concern for Western economies over the next few years,” he said. There were further signs of cooling inflation in the United States with the March producer price index (the prices paid by companies) declining by 0.5%. Economists expected prices to stay the same as in February.