FX.co ★ New Zealand Stocks Dip for 4th Session

In early Wednesday trading, New Zealand equities fell by 23 points, or 0.2%, settling at 13,633, marking the fourth straight day of declines. This downturn mirrored Wall Street's negative trend from Tuesday, as investors assessed subdued U.S. inflation reports, disappointing earnings from JP Morgan, and fresh policy uncertainties under the Trump administration. Caution prevailed in anticipation of December trade data from China, New Zealand’s primary trading partner, following better-than-expected export and import figures in November. On the domestic front, food inflation data for December is expected later this week, after a slight deceleration in November. Some of the losses were cushioned by recent data indicating a 2.8% month-on-month rebound in New Zealand's building permits for November, compared to a previous decline of 0.7%. In the NZX 50, sectors such as consumer durables, retail, and healthcare exerted downward pressure, with significant declines from companies like Briscoe Group (down 2.7%), Summerset Group (down 1.8%), Fletcher Building (down 1.6%), and Port of Tauranga (down 1.5%).