MARKET CLOSE: NZX50 ends year 9% higher, but well off its 2016 highs

MARKET CLOSE: NZX50 ends year 9% higher, but well off its 2016 highs
Sophie Boot
By Sophie Boot Dec. 30 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares were mixed on the last trading day of the year, with the benchmark index ending 9 percent higher than on Jan. 1, breaking a four-year streak of double-digit gains.  The index had rallied by as much as 20.6 percent in the year, reaching a record 7,571.1 on Sept. 7, but fell back as rising global interest rates made local yield stocks less attractive. The election of Donald Trump as US President caused the largest daily fall this year, down 3.3 percent on Nov. 9, while the UK vote t...