FX.co ★ New Zealand Stocks Muted in Early Deals

New Zealand's stock market remained largely unchanged during Wednesday morning trading, hovering around the 12,786 mark. Gains in the communication services and technology sectors managed to balance out the declines seen in the consumer staples and healthcare sectors. The NZX 50 index retreated slightly from an eleven-week high reached the previous day, as traders evaluated the implications of the US-China trade agreement, which includes a 90-day pause. There is prevailing uncertainty about the sustainability of this truce. Market participants also exercised caution in anticipation of New Zealand's upcoming food inflation data for April, following its rise to a 14-month high in March. The decline in the market was mitigated by a positive session on Wall Street overnight, where reduced US-China trade tensions and tempered inflation data bolstered investor confidence. On the data side, New Zealand's visitor arrivals dropped by 8.4% year-on-year in March, a stark contrast to the 1.1% increase observed in February, while electronic card spending continued its downward trend. Among individual stocks, ANZ Group saw an increase of 1.7%, and Ebos Group rose by 0.7%. Meanwhile, Fisher & Paykel and Freightways Group experienced declines, with a decrease of 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.