The NZX 50 rose 145 points, or 1.1%, to close at a record high of 13,763 on Monday, extending gains from the previous session. The advance was led by consumer staples, financials, technology, and healthcare stocks. The broader market mirrored strength in US futures, as Wall Street looked to build on its recent rally after the Dow Jones logged a record-setting week.
Sentiment was further supported by easing oil prices, which helped temper inflation worries and reduced expectations of an imminent interest rate increase. Optimism was also underpinned by diminishing concerns over another Federal Reserve rate hike following last week’s US jobs data, while traders looked ahead to the release of the Fed’s meeting minutes later this week.
Nonetheless, investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with markets largely pricing in a 25-basis-point increase in the policy rate to 2.5%. Among individual movers, A2 Milk gained 2.8%, Ebos Group advanced 2.7%, Infratil added 2.0%, and Fisher & Paykel rose 1.6%.
