NZX 50 Drops but Set for Weekly Gain

New Zealand's stocks fell 54 points, or 0.4%, to 13,741 in Friday morning trade, as traders took profits after the index hit a record high a day earlier. The broader index tracked a decline on Wall Street overnight amid disappointing economic data and renewed doubts over AI spending. Persistently high oil prices also pressured sentiment as inflation concerns fueled expectations of further interest rate hikes. Caution also prevailed ahead of the Fed's monetary policy decision and China's PMI data due next week. Traders also anticipated the release of New Zealand's consumer confidence and business outlook data for June, also due next week. Energy, financials, communication services, healthcare, and consumer discretionary stocks mainly weighed on the index, with notable losses from Infratil (-0.8%), Fisher & Paykel (-0.6%), Hallenstein Glasson (-0.6%), Westpac Banking Corp. (-0.5%), and Freightways (-0.4%). For the week, the index is heading for a 0.3% rise after falling last week.

New Zealand's stocks rose 32 points, or 0.2%, to close at 13,795 on Thursday, reversing morning weakness to post a second consecutive gain and hit a record high, buoyed by energy, materials, and consumer discretionary stocks. The energy sector surged 4.6%, with Channel Infrastructure NZ, a world-class operator of energy infrastructure across New Zealand and Australia, jumping 4.6% on optimism over its fuel storage project. However, a decline in US futures, following a downbeat session on Wall Street overnight, capped the gains ahead of the start of the earnings season for mega-cap tech companies. Persistently high oil prices also pressured sentiment as inflation concerns fueled expectations of further interest rate hikes. Tuesday's data showed that New Zealand's inflation rate accelerated to its highest level since Q4 2023 in Q2. Other top performers were Freightways Group (3.2%), Hallenstein Glasson (2.8%), Westpac Banking Corp (2.0%), ANZ Group (1.9%), and Meridian Energy (1.8%).

The NZX 50 dropped 52 points, or 0.4%, to 13,711 in Thursday morning deals, halting the gains of the previous session and pulling back from its highest level since July 9, reached a day earlier, tracking a decline in US futures following a downbeat session on Wall Street overnight ahead of the start of earnings season for mega-cap tech companies. Persistently high oil prices also pressured sentiment as inflation concerns fueled expectations of further interest rate hikes, after the RBNZ raised its cash rate by 25 bps earlier this month. Tuesday's data showed that New Zealand's inflation rate accelerated to the highest level since Q4 2023 in Q2. Healthcare, consumer staples, and industrial stocks mainly weighed on the index, with early losers including Gentrack Group (-4.4%), Hallenstein Glasson (-1.0%), Ventia Services (-0.7%), Auckland International Airport (-0.6%), and Fisher & Paykel (-0.5%). Meanwhile, SkyCity Entertainment rose 0.8% after surging 12.8% in the previous session.