New Zealand’s stock market joined the worldwide rally as cooler than expected US inflation triggered a wave of relief that interest rates will probably continue to fall, buoying stocks across the global.
The S&P/NZX 50 index rose for a third day, up 56.99 points, or 0.4%, to 13,000.56 on a slightly more respectable turnover of $98.6 million on the main board.
Wall Street and Europe kicked off the global gains as government bond yields tumbled in the wake of more benign inflation data, and that continued across Asia with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 1.3% in afternoon trading, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.8% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 0.2%.
Tech stocks led the local benchmark higher, with Gentrack climbing 4.4% to $12.10 and Vista Group International advancing 3.4% to $3.07. Outside the NZX50, ikeGPS climbed 9.3% to 59 cents and Blis Technologies gained 6.7% to 1.6 cents.
Australian stocks held on to their gains even after stronger than expected jobs growth across the Tasman gave the Reserve Bank of Australia more time to weigh up when to cut its target cash rate.
In New Zealand, inflation is expected to stay in the central bank’s tolerance band allowing it to cut the official cash rate at next month’s meeting. The kiwi slipped to 90.31 Australian cents at 5pm in Auckland from 90.51 cents yesterday.
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The kiwi dollar was muted against the greenback after Scott Bessent, the hedge fund manager Donald Trump’s nominated for Treasury secretary, vowed to ensure the US dollar remained the world’s reserve currency. The kiwi traded at 56.09 US cents at 5pm from 56.13 cents at 7am and 56.06 cents yesterday.
Australian banks were among the day’s biggest gainers in Australia, following Wall Street’s financial stocks higher after the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs delivered better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Dual-listed ANZ Group Holdings rose 2.4% to $33.10 on the NZX while Westpac was up 1.7% at $35.89. Heartland Group Holdings increased 1% to $1.01.
Sky Network Television rose for a second day, up 2.9% at $2.83, its highest closing price since late October. The Post newspaper reported the pay-TV operator was likely to secure rugby broadcast rights on more favourable terms in the current negotiations.
Meridian Energy rose 1.3% to $5.94 after its December monthly update showed national storage remained above 100% of the historical average, although inflows into the power company’s catchments were a touch below normal.
Mercury NZ fell 2% to $5.93 while Contact Energy increased 2.2% to $9.60 and Genesis Energy was unchanged at $2.17.
Air New Zealand – which was pipped as the most held instrument among Sharesies users by the Smart US 500 exchange traded fund in 2024 – was the most heavily traded stock with a volume of 2.2 million, rising 0.8% to 60 cents. The Smart US 500 ETF rose 2.2% to $18.84.
Kiwi Property Group posted the day’s biggest decline on the benchmark index, falling 3.2% to 91.5 cents, while Fletcher Building slipped 3.1% to $2.84.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.
