Value and volume of trades up in March

The sharemarket boomed in March, with a surge in the value and volume of trades, New Zealand Exchange data shows.

The NZSX-50 rose 297 points, or 8 per cent, over the month, which NZX said was the biggest rise in a single month since 1998.

The total value of trades in March was $3.97 billion. The average daily value of trades was a record $172 million, up 45 per cent on the same time last year.