NZX 50 Extends Fall to Start the Week

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, 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%).