FX.co ★ NZX 50 Gains Friday, Week Still Down

New Zealand's leading S&P/NZX 50 index experienced a 0.6% uptick on Friday, closing at 13,423. This rise helped offset the past two sessions' declines, although the index wrapped up the week with an overall decrease. The upward movement was primarily driven by advancements in the financial, healthcare, and consumer non-durable sectors, which overshadowed the downturns within industrial and utility sectors. Investor confidence received a boost from the latest consumer sentiment data, which reached 107.2, the highest level recorded in over four years. Notably, Infratil led individual stock gains with a 1.8% increase, while Auckland International Airport rose by 1.6%. A2 Milk saw a 0.9% rise, with Contact Energy climbing 0.7%, Fisher & Paykel up by 0.5%, and Spark NZ along with EBOS Group each gaining 0.4%. Looking forward, China, New Zealand's largest trading partner, plans to unveil its PMI this weekend. Additionally, local labor market statistics are slated for release next week. Despite Friday’s positive movement, the NZX 50 exhibited a 0.19% decrease over the week and a 0.92% drop for the month, negating December’s slight increase.