FX.co ★ New Zealand Shares Set for Monthly Gains

The New Zealand stock market experienced a modest increase in early trading on Friday, rising by 47 points, or 0.4%, to reach 12,328. This uptick halted declines from the previous two trading sessions, with significant contributions to the gains coming from the healthcare, real estate, and energy minerals sectors. The positive momentum was also buoyed by an encouraging session on Wall Street overnight, driven by strong performances of Nvidia shares. Despite this optimism, traders appeared unperturbed by the federal appeals court's ruling that temporarily upheld President Trump's extensive tariffs, even after the US Court of International Trade had blocked their implementation a day earlier. However, fresh economic data tempered the market's gains; New Zealand's consumer confidence dropped to a seven-month low in May owing to persistent high inflation expectations, and building permits saw their sharpest decline in a decade-long period of ten months. Although the NZX 50 is poised for a second consecutive weekly decline, it is still showing a monthly growth of approximately 3.8%. Key stock movers included Fisher & Paykel, which rose by 1.7%, Mainfreight with a 1.5% increase, ANZ Group up by 1.2%, and Fonterra advancing 0.6%.