FX.co ★ New Zealand Shares Close at Record High

New Zealand's leading index, the S&P/NZX 50, advanced by 0.5% to reach an unprecedented closing high of 13,672, successfully erasing previous declines. This upward movement reflected the positive trend seen across most Asian stock markets, fueled by investor optimism regarding a potential resolution to the US government shutdown and underwhelming US employment data, which spurred speculation about a possible interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve in December. Key contributors to the rise included major stocks such as Fisher & Paykel, Meridian Energy, Infratil, Contact Energy, and Spark NZ, each gaining 0.5%, 0.5%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 0.4% respectively. Additionally, notable gains were recorded by Fletcher Building (+0.85%), Summerset Group (+2.35%), Genesis Energy (+1.6%), Kiwi Property (+0.5%), Heartland Group (+0.9%), and SkyCity Entertainment (+2.6%).