FX.co ★ New Zealand Stocks Muted in Early Deals

The NZX 50 witnessed marginal movements, stabilizing around 12,604 during Thursday's morning trades following gains from the prior day. This balance was achieved as advances in sectors such as materials, energy, and consumer staples were countered by downturns in financials, utilities, and industrials. Investors maintained a cautious stance due to ongoing uncertainties surrounding tariffs in the US-China trade negotiations, even after two days of discussions. They also kept a close eye on developments following the framework agreement between the two nations. Positively, US inflation figures came in lower than anticipated, reducing the likelihood of an interest rate hike. On the domestic data front, New Zealand reported an unexpected 0.9% year-on-year rise in electronic card spending for May, surpassing forecasts of a 0.3% decline and recovering from a 0.3% decrease in April. Conversely, US markets closed negatively as enthusiasm around the US-China trade agreement waned due to continued tariff ambiguities. Amongst individual stocks, ANZ Group decreased by 1.1%, Fletcher Building saw a 1.8% drop, while Westpac Banking Corp. and A2 Milk posted gains of 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.