FX.co ★ NZX 50 Ends at Over 2-Month Low

The NZX 50 fell 76 points, or 0.6%, to 13,484 on Tuesday, extending its losing streak to a fourth straight session and marking its lowest close since June 24. The benchmark mirrored weakness on Wall Street overnight, where chipmakers sold off after several AI companies called for an industry-wide slowdown.

Investor sentiment was further dampened by caution ahead of New Zealand’s Q2 GDP release later this week, with markets bracing for softer quarterly growth. Weaker-than-expected data from China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner, also weighed on risk appetite: retail sales growth missed forecasts, while fixed investment and house prices continued to decline.

Expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike this week, alongside elevated oil prices, added to the pressure on equities. Energy, materials, and financial stocks led the declines on the local market, with notable losses in Summerset Group (-3.6%), Infratil (-3.5%), Channel Infrastructure (-2.6%), Chorus (-1.7%), and Freightways Group (-1.2%).