The New Zealand sharemarket has had one of its worst days since the spread of Covid-19 sparked a global health emergency at the end of January.
Photo: Supplied
The NZX Top 50 Index closed down 2.9 percent, or by 334 points to 11,092.
But it fared better than the benchmark Australian ASX 200 index, which was down more than 6 percent late this afternoon.
The Australian share market lost more than $100 billion, the worst day of trade since November 2008, when the global financial crisis took hold.
Oil prices also took a dive, plunging 25 percent to levels not seen since the 1991 Gulf War, as Saudia Arabia decided to ramp up production after failing to get Russia to agree to a cap.
The New Zealand dollar also had a rocky session.
It was down against all the major currencies, but slightly stronger against the Australian.
It was trading around 62.4 US cents and 95.8 Australian cents at today's close.
