New Zealand shares slipped 15 points, or 0.1%, to 13,982 in Wednesday morning trade, erasing the previous session’s gains, with weakness concentrated in healthcare, energy, and utilities. Investors remained cautious ahead of a busy corporate earnings calendar later this week, with Meridian Energy due to report today. Sentiment was also restrained before the release of US PCE price data, which will be closely watched for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next policy move, as well as comments from FOMC officials at the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the week.
Losses were limited by a positive lead from Wall Street, where major indices advanced on strength in technology stocks, softer oil prices, and a pullback in US Treasury yields. Among the early laggards were Fisher & Paykel (-0.9%), Hallenstein Glasson (-0.9%), Contact Energy (-0.7%), and Freightways Group (-0.6%). Meridian Energy eased 0.5% ahead of its earnings release, while Channel Infrastructure was down 0.3%.
