NZX 50 Gains but Set for Weekly Decline

New Zealand stocks rose 24 points, or 0.2%, to 13,735 on Thursday, moving up from their lowest level since July 31, touched a day earlier, mainly buoyed by consumer discretionary, healthcare, and real estate. However, traders were cautious ahead of the release of US inflation data later today for clues on the Fed's monetary policy decision next week. Caution also built ahead of the release of New Zealand's GDP for Q2 and a slew of data from China, New Zealand's top trading partner, due next week. A downbeat session on Wall Street overnight also capped the gain, amid a surge in Treasury yields and rising oil prices. On the data front, New Zealand’s manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in August. Among earlier gainers were Hallenstein Glasson (1.6%), Ebos Group (1.1%), Chorus (0.7%), F&C Investment (0.6%), and ANZ Group (0.2%). For the week, the index is heading for a 1.5% fall, after rising in the previous week.

New Zealand stocks dropped 108 points, or 0.8%, to close at 13,711 on Thursday, touching its lowest level since July 31, after rising in the previous session, tracking a downbeat session on Wall Street overnight following a surge in Treasury yields and rising oil prices. Oil continued to rise, raising concerns over inflation and boosting bets that central banks would raise interest rates, including the RBNZ, which recently hiked its interest rate for the second straight meeting. Traders also anticipated the release of US inflation data later this week for clues on the Fed's monetary policy decision at its upcoming meeting, as well as New Zealand's manufacturing PMI for August due on Friday. Industrials, utilities, and real estate mainly weighed on the index, with the biggest laggards including Delegat Group (-3.9%), Briscoe Group (-3.2%), Fletcher Building (-2.6%), ANZ Group (-1.5%), Mainfreight (-1.4%), Westpac Banking Corp. (-1.3%), and Freightways Group (-1.2%).

New Zealand stocks fell 19 points, or 0.1%, to 13,800 in Thursday morning trade, after gaining in the previous session, tracking a downbeat session on Wall Street overnight following a surge in Treasury yields and rising oil prices. Oil continued to rise, raising concerns over inflation and boosting bets that central banks would raise interest rates. Traders also anticipated the release of US inflation data later this week for clues on the Fed's monetary policy decision at its upcoming meeting. Wednesday's data from China, New Zealand’s top trading partner, also pressured sentiment, as consumer and producer price pressures continued to rise amid higher oil prices. Consumer staples, financials, communication services, and materials mainly weighed on the index, with early losers including Briscoe Group (-0.9%), A2 Milk (-0.8%), Hallenstein Glasson (-0.8%), F&C Investment (-0.6%), Infratil (-0.6%), and Delegat Group (-0.4%).