FX.co ★ New Zealand Stocks Hover at 2-Week Low

The NZX 50 experienced a decline of 24 points, or 0.2%, settling at 12,663 during Monday morning trading. This marks the fourth consecutive session of downturns, driven by decreases in industrial services, consumer services, and financial stocks. The benchmark index reached a two-week low, echoing the negative sentiment from Wall Street on Friday. Investor caution heightened as they anticipated the upcoming U.S. corporate earnings season, an important inflation report, and President Trump's proposed tariffs targeting over 20 countries, effective August 1. Additionally, market sentiment was dampened by the awaited release of significant Chinese economic data this week, including June trade statistics, industrial output figures, retail sales data, and second quarter GDP. Nevertheless, expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in August helped mitigate further declines, following the central bank's decision to maintain its official cash rate at 3.25% last week. Notable declines were observed in Sky Network TV (-3.3%), Fletcher Building (-2.0%), Delegat Group (-1.9%), and Briscoe Group (-1.6%).