New Zealand shares rose 101 points, or 0.8%, to 13,132 in Wednesday’s morning session, breaking a three-day losing streak, supported by gains in consumer durables, commercial services, and healthcare stocks. Investors looked ahead to the RBNZ’s first policy meeting of 2026 later today, with the central bank widely expected to keep the cash rate unchanged at 2.25% and any potential tightening seen as more likely in the latter part of the year.
Inflationary pressures showed further signs of easing. Q4 data indicated producer output prices inched up 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, down from a 0.6% increase previously, while input prices fell 0.5%, marking their first decline in a year.
Upside momentum was tempered by a muted performance on Wall Street on Tuesday, ahead of the release of the latest Fed minutes later today, which are expected to underscore a still-restrictive policy stance and little urgency to begin cutting rates.
Domestically, heavy rain and strong winds disrupted transport and caused power outages across New Zealand’s North Island, pressuring select sectors. Early gainers included Spark New Zealand (up 1.4%), Briscoe Group (1.1%), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (1.0%), and PGG Wrightson (0.9%).
