New Zealand’s Benchmark Stock Index Closes at Fresh Record High

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand shares rose to an all-time high even as cyber attacks rattled the nation’s stock exchange this week and spurred trading halts over the last four days.

The S&P/NZX 50 Gross Index climbed 0.3% to close at 12,093.52, breaking through its February peak. The gauge joins the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite in reclaiming records as global equities continue to recover from March lows.

The NZ$204 billion ($135 billion) stock market has been the target of distributed-denial-of-service attacks that have overwhelmed its website and forced trading halts since Tuesday. The disruptions have been frustrating to investors who were unable to trade amid a busy company earnings season.

New Zealand Deploys Spy Agency as Stock Market Hit by Hackers

The country’s track record in handling the virus has supported its stock gauge in recent months. The index became the first major Asia-Pacific benchmark to erase its 2020 losses in June when the nation was one of the only locations globally to see zero active virus cases.

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