NZX 50 Halts Decline, Ends 0.2% Higher
The NZX 50 gained 22 points, or 0.2%, to close at 13,20 on Tuesday, halting losses from the morning session and the previous session, mainly buoyed by communication services and financial stocks. Traders braced for the release of jobs data on Wednesday, with the market expecting the unemployment rate to ease slightly to 5.5% in Q3 from 5.6% in Q2, its highest reading since Q3 2015. Moderating oil prices also lifted sentiment as inflation concerns and fears of interest rate hikes eased. However, a downbeat session on Wall Street capped the gains, as tech stocks continued to fall. Traders also monitored early voting in New Zealand ahead of the November general election, with nearly 1 million ballots having been cast in the first week of early voting. Among the best performers were Fletcher Building (2.6%), Westpac Banking Corp. (2.4%), Chorus (2.0%), Infratil (1.5%), Vulcan Steel (1.2%), Gentrack Group (1.0%), and EBOS Group (-0.8%).
The NZX 50 gained 22 points, or 0.2%, to close at 13,20 on Tuesday, halting losses from the morning session and the previous session, mainly buoyed by communication services and financial stocks. Traders braced for the release of jobs data on Wednesday, with the market expecting the unemployment rate to ease slightly to 5.5% in Q3 from 5.6% in Q2, its highest reading since Q3 2015. Moderating oil prices also lifted sentiment as inflation concerns and fears of interest rate hikes eased. However, a downbeat session on Wall Street capped the gains, as tech stocks continued to fall.
Traders also monitored early voting in New Zealand ahead of the November general election, with nearly 1 million ballots having been cast in the first week of early voting. Among the best performers were Fletcher Building (2.6%), Westpac Banking Corp. (2.4%), Chorus (2.0%), Infratil (1.5%), Vulcan Steel (1.2%), Gentrack Group (1.0%), and EBOS Group (-0.8%).