FX.co ★ Healthcare Lifts NZX; RBNZ Decision Ahead

The NZX 50 index rose by 85 points, or 0.6%, to reach 13,565 during Wednesday morning's trading session, recovering from the previous day's losses and reaching its highest point in two weeks. This increase was mainly supported by the healthcare, energy, utilities, and technology sectors. The healthcare sector experienced a notable rise of 2.5%, largely due to Fisher & Paykel's share price escalating by 4.1% after reporting a first-half net profit that exceeded expectations. Market sentiment was further bolstered by the anticipation of a potential easing in monetary policy from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) later today, with markets predicting a 25 basis points cut in response to high unemployment rates and economic contraction. The index's upward movement also mirrored a rally in Wall Street on Tuesday, driven by investor speculation on a possible rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month. However, traders remained cautious as they awaited the release of key economic indicators, including retail sales, consumer confidence, and business sentiment data, expected later in the week. Among the early market leaders were Skellerup Holdings, which rose by 1.9%, Ebos Group, which increased by 0.9%, F&C Investment, up by 0.7%, and Contact Energy, which gained 0.6%.