NZX business as usual, despite cyber attacks

Trading on the NZX was severely affected by a series of cyber attacks last week. Photo / File

The New Zealand sharemarket is functioning normally, despite the fact that its website continues to be subjected to cyber attacks.

"Trading has continued as normal - it's just that the website has been down," Forsyth Barr broker David Price said.

"Trading is relatively quiet as it typically is on a Monday, and its MSCI day, so people tend to wait until the end of the day when the flows are transacted."

Prices have been available from the IRESS information provider and through the backbone of trading system Nasdaq X-Stream.

"It is all running, so it is all very positive," Price said.

The NZX website crashed again this morning after a series of cyber attacks hit the exchange last week.

A spokesman for the exchange said the NZX had been trading all day uininterruped, despite continued attacks on its website.

"There were attacks on the website today but the market also operated on Friday with those attacks taking place," he said.

The NZX, with the agreement of the Financial Markets Authority, has put in place alternative disclosure methods.

"The market has not missed a beat today," he said.

"What has been affected is the pulibc disclosure mechansms that investors use to get information," he said.

"Our core trading systems have not been affected at any time."

The stock exchange said earlier that it had extended its hours to accommodate expected changes arising from the quarterly index review of MSCI equity indices.

Read more on the latest on the cyber attacks here.

NZX said this morning an "adjust" session will operate from 5:00 pm to 5:45pm to accommodate the MSCI rebalancing, which would normally see significantly increased volume traded.

The local market's S&P/NZX50 index finished at a record high of 12,093.52, up 40 points, on Friday after intermittent trading.

The US sharemarket had another very strong week, with the S&P 500 rising 3.3 per cent to also finish at a new record.

It is now 3.6 per cent above its pre-Covid high and is up 8.6 per cent in 2020.

Despite a highly disrupted few days of trading, the local NZX50 rallied 2.2 per cent for the week and also surpassed its pre-Covid closing high from February.

"However, it should be noted that the US and New Zealand are the exception, rather than the rule," brokers Craigs IP said.

"Most other major sharemarkets are still some way below the highs reached earlier in the year," it said.

The FTSE 100 in the UK is 22.3 per cent down from those levels, while the Australian ASX 200 and the European Stoxx 600 are 13.8 per cent and 15.0 per cent below their respective peaks.

Japanese and emerging market shares have performed better and are just 5.0 per cent and 2.2 per cent down from their respective highs from early 2020.