New Zealand shares rose 27 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 13,819 on Wednesday, snapping a two-day losing streak. The advance was driven by strength in financials, utilities, and communication services.
Sentiment remained supported by Tuesday’s report from Moody’s, which noted that New Zealand’s economic recovery is underway, while cautioning that several key challenges remain unresolved. However, gains were constrained by a weak overnight session on Wall Street, as rising oil prices amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East stoked inflation concerns and reinforced expectations of further interest rate hikes by central banks.
Fresh data from China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner, also acted as a headwind, showing renewed consumer and producer price pressures in response to higher oil costs.
Leading movers included Sanford (up 1.6%), Mercury NZ (1.4%), Contact Energy (1.2%), Mainfreight (0.9%), Infratil (0.8%), ANZ Group (0.7%), Delegat Group (0.7%), and A2 Milk (0.5%).
