Market absorbs Reserve Bank shock

Monetary policy decision took many investors by surprise. (Image: Getty)

Wed, 05 Apr 2023

The New Zealand sharemarket tumbled and then recovered from the shock of an unforgiving Reserve Bank of NZ defying predictions and increasing the official cash rate to its highest level in 14 years.The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell from 11,914.59 to a close of 11,866.83 points when the bank announced it was increasing the official cash rate (OCR) 50 basis points to 5.25% – a level last seen at the end of 2008 – because of persistent inflation. The market expected a 25 basis points rise.The index was finally down 31.72 points or 0.27% af...

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