NZX 50 Erases Gains at Finish, Down 0.9%

New Zealand's stocks fell 123 points, or 0.9%, to close at 13,738 on Wednesday, reversing a morning gain and declining for the second straight session, touching their lowest level since August 3, tracking a decline on Wall Street overnight amid higher oil prices due to uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Caution also prevailed ahead of the US inflation data for clues about the Fed's monetary policy decision at its upcoming meeting. Investors assessed a statement from New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after he survived a second confidence vote. He has underlined the need to defeat the Labour-led opposition. Materials, industrials, and financials mainly weighed on the index, with the bottom performers being Mainfreight (-3.7%), Colonial Motor (-1.7%), Westpac Banking Corp. (-1.6%), ANZ Group (-1.3%), F&C Investment (-1.3%), and Infratil (-1.2%).

New Zealand's stocks rose 28 points, or 0.2%, to 13,889 in Wednesday morning trade, after retreating in the previous session, mainly boosted by consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and utilities. However, rising oil prices amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz capped the gain, raising concerns over inflation and also raising questions about how they could affect the RBNZ's monetary policy decision at its September meeting. Caution also prevailed ahead of the US inflation data for clues about the Fed's monetary policy decision at its upcoming meeting. Traders also awaited the release of the RBNZ's business inflation expectations for Q3, due on Thursday, after accelerating slightly in Q2. Among the early gainers were A2 Milk (1.2%), Infratil (0.9%), Westpac Banking Corp. (0.9%), Channel Infrastructure (0.6%), EBOS Group (0.5%), and F&C Investment (0.4%).

New Zealand's stocks lost 28 points, or 0.2%, to close at 13,861 on Tuesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street overnight as rising oil prices amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz raised inflation concerns and doubts about whether the Fed will cut rates this year. Traders awaited the release of US inflation data this week for clues about the Fed's monetary policy at its upcoming meeting. Meanwhile, rising oil prices also raised questions about how they could affect the RBNZ's monetary policy decision at its September meeting. Caution also prevailed ahead of the RBNZ's Q3 inflation expectations, due this week, after they accelerated in Q2. Energy, industrials, financials, and utilities mainly weighed on the index, with notable losses from Channel Infrastructure (-2.4%), Colonial Motor (-2.2%), Auckland International Airport (-1.6%), EBOS Group (-1.1%), Freightways Group (-1.1%), Infratil (-1.1%), Meridian Energy (-1.1%), ANZ Group (-0.6%), and A2 Milk (-0.6%).