The NZX 50 rose 13 points, or 0.1%, to 13,776 in Tuesday morning trade, extending its winning streak to a third consecutive session and setting a new record high. The move followed an overnight rally on Wall Street, led by strong gains in semiconductor stocks. Softer oil prices further supported sentiment by easing inflation worries and tempering expectations of additional interest rate hikes.
Risk appetite was also underpinned by diminishing concerns over another US Federal Reserve rate increase after last week’s jobs data, with investors now looking ahead to the release of the Fed’s meeting minutes later this week. Locally, traders largely looked past the prospect of a rate hike by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand at its Wednesday meeting, where markets widely expect a 25 basis point increase in the policy rate to 2.5%.
Gains were concentrated in consumer staples, financials, and healthcare. Notable movers included A2 Milk, up 2.7%; AFT Pharmaceuticals, up 2.4%; Scales Corporation, up 0.8%; ANZ Group, up 0.5%; Summerset Group, up 0.6%; and Fisher & Paykel, up 0.4%.