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New Zealand shares finished higher on Friday after Wall Street futures rose as big tech earnings impressed investors.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index was up 0.7% or 89.03 points to close at 13,548.32.
Nasdaq futures surged 1.2% and S&P 500 futures advanced 0.6% after Amazon’s earnings drove its shares up 13% in after-hours trading, adding more than $300 billion to its market value. Apple also gained 2.3% as its iPhone sales outlook exceeded expectations.
“Things have gone in reverse, or at least slightly retraced, with earnings this morning from Apple and Amazon…improving sentiment going into Asian trade,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com, as quoted by Reuters.
In domestic news, the US tariffs acted as a negative demand shock for New Zealand, while the “weaponization” of trade and finance challenged international rules and norms, creating a broader uncertainty shock, appearing to offset some of the monetary easing that has taken place since August 2024, said Prasanna Gai, a member of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monetary policy committee.
Also, New Zealand’s consumer confidence fell to 92.4 in October from 94.6 in September, reversing the gains seen last month, according to a survey by ANZ Research and Roy Morgan Research.
In corporate news, Port of Tauranga (NZE:POT) said that its associate, Northport Group, secured resource consent from the environment court for its planned expansion. The company’s shares closed marginally higher.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand (NZE:MCK) confirmed that a fire occurred on Thursday afternoon near the Copthorne Hotel Palmerston North, damaging unused buildings previously part of the hotel.