NZX 50 Falls 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%).