The NZX 50 fell 70 points, or 0.5%, to 14,097 in Wednesday morning trading, pausing the previous session’s advance after the index had reached a record high the day before, prompting profit-taking. The local market tracked an overnight decline on Wall Street after inflation data came in hotter than expected.
Investors also kept a close watch on coalition negotiations, while labour market leaders identified National’s Simeon Brown and Labour’s Barbara Edmonds as the frontrunners for the Finance Minister role. Their names surfaced after current Finance Minister Nicola Willis failed to retain a seat in Parliament.
A pullback in oil prices helped limit losses, as it tempered inflation worries and reduced expectations of further interest rate hikes. Still, financials, real estate, and industrials dragged on the index, with notable early decliners including Fletcher Building (-2.0%), Infratil (-1.6%), Westpac Banking Corp. (-1.3%), Auckland International Airport (-0.9%), and Summerset Group (-0.9%).
