18.06.202623:11:15UTC+00NZX 50 Set for Flat Weekly Close

The NZX 50 rose 41 points, or 0.3%, to 13,404 in Friday morning trade, reversing the previous session’s losses. The move tracked an overnight rally on Wall Street, where optimism over a US–Iran peace deal helped counter concerns about the prospect of a US Federal Reserve rate hike later this year.

Sentiment was also supported by Thursday’s domestic data, which showed New Zealand’s GDP growth accelerating to 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, while annual growth remained steady at 1.5%. However, gains were limited by fresh trade figures indicating that New Zealand’s trade surplus narrowed in May from a year earlier, as exports grew more slowly than imports.

Investors were also looking ahead to key US releases due next week, including the final estimate of Q1 GDP and the May PCE price index.

Sector-wise, consumer discretionary, utilities, healthcare, and consumer staples led the advance. Notable movers included Freightways Group (up 2.3%), Henderson Far East Income (1.4%), A2 Milk (1.3%), Ebos Group (0.9%), Fisher & Paykel (0.6%), and ANZ Group (0.5%). For the week, the index is on track to finish broadly unchanged.