Market close: NZ sharemarket snaps eight-day losing streak 17 May, 2021 05:53 AM 4 minutes to read Restaurant Brands surged 60c or 4.51 per cent to $13.90. Photo / Dean Purcell NZ Herald By: Graham Skellern The lagging New Zealand sharemarket snapped an eight-day losing streak with a small but significant gain – but global marketer a2 Milk continued its slump. The S&P/NZX 50 Index raced ahead to an intraday high of 12,442.65 by lunchtime but then steadied and closed at 12,410.47, up 42.61 points or 0.34 per cent. There were 71 gainers and 68 decliners over the whole market on light trading of 33.9 million shares worth $105.15 million. Greg Smith, head of research with Fat Prophets, said the market had "a bit of a relief bounce after the weakness last week. The inflationary concerns aren't going away, and it's a case of the market acclimatising to the prospect of a higher inflation rate and higher interest rates down the track."