New Zealand Stocks Little Changed in Morning Trade

The NZX 50 was almost flat, trading around 13,823 in Tuesday morning trade, after rising in the previous session, as gains in consumer discretionary, financials, and real estate offset declines in materials, and healthcare. The broader index remained at its highest level since September 7, touched a day earlier, as traders were cautious ahead of the Trump-Xi summit later this week. Caution was also evident as traders continued to monitor developments in the Middle East conflict and the impact on oil prices amid efforts to ease tensions. On a positive note, Wall Street closed in the green overnight, buoyed by strong tech stocks, while oil prices and US Treasury yields eased. Colonial Motor rose 1.7%, Summerset Group climbed 1.2%, Channel Infrastructure gained 1.1%, and Scales Corporation advanced 0.9%, while Fisher & Paykel, Freightways Group, and Mainfreight fell 1.2%, 0.6%, and 0.4%, respectively.

The NZX 50 climbed 82 points, or 0.6%, to close at 13,821 on Monday, erasing losses from the morning and previous session, mainly buoyed by gains in consumer staples, materials, and communication services. The broader index hit its highest level since September 7, tracking a rise in US stock futures after the Dow Jones recorded a third straight losing week. Meanwhile, China held interest rates for a 16th month ahead of the Trump-Xi summit on September 24. However, traders continued to monitor oil prices amid efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East. Last week's economic data limited the gain, as New Zealand’s GDP grew 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, down from 0.2% previously, marking the weakest growth in a year, as higher fuel costs weighed on businesses and consumers. Among notable gainers were Vulcan Steel (5.8%), A2 Milk (4.5%), Skellerup Holdings (3.5%), Mainfreight (2.5%), Delegat Group 2.2%), Freightways Group (1.2%), ANZ Group (0.9%), and Fisher & Paykel (0.9%).

The NZX 50 dropped 73 points, or 0.5%, to 13,666 in Monday morning trade, extending losses from the previous session, mainly weighed down by utilities, industrials, healthcare, and financials. Traders continued to assess last week's economic data. New Zealand’s GDP grew 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, down from 0.2% previously, marking the weakest growth in a year, while accelerating to 2.6% year-on-year, marking the fastest increase in three years. Traders also continued to monitor oil prices amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Caution was also building ahead of the Trump-Xi summit after China held interest rates for a 16th month, as expected. However, gains in US stock futures capped the fall after the Dow Jones recorded a third straight losing week. Among the early losers were Mainfreight (-2.0%), Fisher & Paykel (-1.2%), Auckland International Airport (-1.4%), Meridian Energy (-1.1%), Mercury NZ (-1.0%), and Fletcher Building (-0.8%).