New Zealand Shares Fall; Taiko Critical Minerals Raises NZ$7 Million Through Placement

New Zealand shares ended lower on Tuesday while the country's central bank decided to lift interest rates, and the US and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes. The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.71% or 97.61 points to close at 13,665.18. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, and the Dow Jones decreased 0.3%. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) monetary policy committee raised the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 2.5%, citing the need to continue reducing monetary stimulus as inflation remains above target despite easing global energy price pressures, according to a statement. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they struck US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday, following a wave of US military strikes on Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Tuesday Reuters report. In domestic news, New Zealand's housing market has become increasingly divided along regional lines in the first half of the year, amid cost-of-living pressures weighing on buyer confidence, QV said. Also, a total of 26,316 metric tonnes (MT) of products were sold during the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction held on.