The NZX 50 rose 11 points, or 0.1%, to 13,217 in Friday morning trade, reversing the previous session’s losses. Sentiment improved in line with an overnight rally on Wall Street, supported by news of an extended US-Iran ceasefire. Confidence was further underpinned by May consumer sentiment data, which showed an improvement from April’s nearly three-year low.
Still, investors remained cautious as they digested comments from Anna Breman on Morning Report, where she said the official cash rate is expected to rise to 3% or 3.25% over time. Caution also lingered ahead of the release of the May business outlook survey, after the indicator slipped into negative territory in April for the first time since August 2023.
Gains were led by real estate, industrials, and consumer discretionary stocks. Notable movers included Summerset Group (up 2.5%), Ebos Group (0.9%), Freightways Group (0.5%), and Contact Energy (0.5%). For the month, the benchmark index is on track for a 2.4% advance, following a flat performance in the prior month.
