New Zealand equities rose 74 points, or 0.6%, to 13,600 in Thursday morning trade, rebounding from a subdued session the previous day. The benchmark NZX 50 reached a five-week high, supported by a tech-led rally on Wall Street on Wednesday as fears over AI-driven disruption receded.
Upside momentum was partly capped by domestic reports that the Reserve Bank is proposing nationwide access to free cash services—an initiative the banking lobby argues would increase costs across the financial sector and, in turn, for all New Zealanders. At the same time, U.S. President Trump warned countries against rolling back recent trade agreements, threatening higher tariffs if they did so.
Industrial services, healthcare, and utilities led the gains, while commercial services and producer manufacturing dragged on the broader move higher. Early outperformers included Sky Network TV (up 4.6%), Seeka Ltd. (1.4%), Meridian Energy (1.3%), and EBOS Group (1.1%). Market participants are now looking ahead to January business and consumer confidence figures for further insight into the economy’s underlying strength.
