The New Zealand sharemarket had a lackluster opening on Tuesday, following a lead from the Wall Street where major averages slipped and the outcome of the Australian election remained hazy.
The benchmark NZX 50 index inched up 0.10 Points or 0.00% to 3,016.88 shortly after the market opened on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the broader NZX All Capital index marginally rose 0.56 points or 0.02% To Be At 3,051.36.
On Monday though, the NZX-50 index closed up 16.37 points, or 0.55 percent, at 3016.78 after initially opening down around 9.86 points. Turnover was worth $57.3 million. There were 29 rises and 33 falls among the 109 stocks traded.
Overseas US Stocks closed lower to open the week on Monday, as concern regarding the direction of the economy erased earlier gains that came on news of a flurry of mergers and acquisitions. The majority of the selling came late in the day, spearheaded by losses in the tech sector.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid by 20.13 points or 0.9 percent to 2,159.63, the Dow fell by 39.21 points or 0.4 percent to 10,174.41 and the S&P 500 declined by 4.33 points or 0.4 percent to 1,067.36.
In M&A news today, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) issued a $24 per share bid for U.S. data storage firm 3PAR (PAR), 33 percent higher than Dell's (DELL) competing offer of $18 per share.
Further, HSBC Holdings Plc (HBC) announced plans to acquire control of Nedbank Group Ltd, a South Africa-based bank presently controlled by South Africa-based insurance company Old Mutual.
Additionally, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP) and Prime Infrastructure said that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create a global infrastructure company in a transaction with an implied value of $1.4 billion for Prime Infrastructure.
Canada-based Potash Corp. (POT), which was targeted by BHP Billiton (BHP) through a hostile offer last week, has also reportedly received interest from unnamed third parties.
In other corporate news, insurance giant American International Group, Inc. (AIG) repaid $3.95 billion in loans to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Revolving Credit Facility, reducing its outstanding principal balance to slightly more than $15 billion.
Meanwhile, oil prices continued to move lower on Monday amid deepening concerns about slumping global demand. Also, the greenback firmed against the euro, weighing on all dollar-denominated assets.
Crude oil for October delivery fell 72 cents, or 1%, to settle at $73.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Early in the day, oil prices rose a bit after government forecasters said Tropical Storm Danielle may become the Atlantic season's second hurricane within a day.
However, there was little first-tier economic data to help Wall Street break out of its doldrums, and oil prices later slumped along with equities. Even the busiest month of merger activity since last November has failed to generate much interest in stocks.
Last week, Energy Department data revealed that US crude inventories have risen to their highest level since at least 1990. Swollen stockpiles indicate dwindling demand for resources.
Additionally, a dire report on US jobless claims renewed fears that weakness in the jobs market will lead to a double-dip recession. On the currency front, the Kiwi was buying US70.69c at around 8am, similar to its level at 5pm yesterday, having pushed up to about US71.25c shortly before 2am
In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Friday, market leader Telecom slipped 0.48%, as second ranked Contact Energy remained unchanged and Fletcher Building, the market's third best stock, dropped 0.14%.
In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson stayed the same while jewelry retailer Michael Hill International, Pumpkin Patch and Warehouse remained unchanged. Among energy stocks, TrustPower remained unchanged whereas Vector moved up 0.48% in the early trading.
Among the dual listed issues, Australia and NZ Banking Corp, Telstra and Westpac remained unchanged in Tuesday's early trading.
Among other notable stocks, Infratil as well as Nuplex remained unchanged , Mainfreight gained 0.75%, New Zealand Oil & Gas eased 0.83%, New Zealand Farming Systems remained static, Sky City lost 0.34% and Sky Network Television eased 0.20%, as Fisher & Paykel Appliances remained unchanged and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare collected 1.08%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.