2025.12.1823:00:12UTC+00New Zealand Shares Bounce Back, Weekly Loss Still in Sight

The NZX 50 experienced an uptick of 87 points, or 0.7%, reaching 13,344 during early trading on Friday, effectively breaking a two-session losing streak. The majority of sectors saw gains, particularly in logistics, healthcare, and energy minerals. This positive shift was influenced by a recovery in Wall Street, where major technology stocks rebounded from recent sell-offs, coupled with softer U.S. inflation figures that spurred optimism for potential Federal Reserve interest rate reductions next year. Domestically, New Zealand saw a surge in consumer confidence to almost a four-year peak in December, continuing a second month of improvement. Additionally, the trade deficit for November decreased as export growth outpaced imports. Earlier in the week, data suggested a resurgence in New Zealand's economy during Q3 2025, driven by robust performance in manufacturing, construction, and business services sectors. Among the leading performers were Fisher & Paykel Healthcare with a 2.8% rise, Infratil Ltd. up by 1.2%, Mercury NZ climbing 1.1%, and Port of Tauranga advancing 0.9%. Despite these gains, the index is poised for a second consecutive weekly decline, currently down approximately 0.6%, as investors remain cautious ahead of upcoming key interest rate decisions in China, New Zealand's primary trading partner.