The New Zealand sharemarket opened higher in early trade following a lead from Wall Street as well as robust showing witnessed in global markets.
The benchmark NZX 50 index was up Up 34.18 Points or 1.11% to 3,111.28 shortly after the market opened on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, the broader NZX All Capital index moved up 32.35 points or 1.04% To Be At 3,140.70.
On Thursday though, the New Zealand market had a higher opening aided by the bullish sentiment in markets worldwide. New Zealand's sharemarket posted a solid gain on Wednesday. And the benchmark NZX-50 index advanced 41.0 points or 1.3 percent to close at 3,077.1.
The NZ Stock Exchange reported trading volume of 37.9 million shares valued at NZ$83.7 million.
Overseas US stocks saw substantial gains to open the traditionally downward trending month of September on Wednesday, as data showing a pickup in manufacturing activity in both the U.S. and China recharged some hopes of a continued economic recovery. The rally was further fueled by a better than expected reading on resource-linked Australian GDP.
The major averages saw further upside in late-session dealing, ending near their best levels of the day. The Dow shot up by 254.75 points or 2.5 percent to 10,269.47, the Nasdaq surged by 62.81 points or 3 percent to 2,176.84 and the S&P 500 advanced by 30.96 points or 3 percent to 1,080.29.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of U.S. manufacturing activity rose to 56.3 in August from 55.5 in July, surprising economists who had expected the index to dip to 52.9.
Market sentiment was already upbeat ahead of the report, as data from Markit Economics showed that Chinese manufacturing activity expanded after a two-month contraction. The headline index came in at 51.9, up from 49.4 in July.
Early optimism was also generated by a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that Australian GDP rose by 1.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the 0.7 percent growth seen in the previous quarter. Economists had expected the economy to grow by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the day's second-tier economic data from the U.S. saw little reaction. The Commerce Department said that construction spending fell by 1.0 percent in July, which was steeper than expected.
In news on the labor market, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) reported that private sector employment fell by 10,000 jobs in August, while economists had forecast an increase of 13,000 jobs.
Also, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. (F) both reported drops in their U.S. vehicle sales for August compared to the same month last year, when sales were boosted by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentive program.
GM reported a 25 percent drop in U.S. vehicle sales for August, while Ford reported an 11 percent decline.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed Wednesday, as strong readings on manufacturing in two of the world's top energy consumers - the US and China - offset a report showing a huge build in US crude stockpiles.
Weakness in the greenback also contributed to the dollar-denominated oil's recovery following a sharp fall in the previous session.
October crude oil added $1.99 or 2.8% to $73.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Energy Information Administration's latest inventory report released on Wednesday showed that US commercial crude inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 361.70 million barrels in the week ended August 27. Analysts were looking for a more modest build-up of 1.3 million barrels.
On the currency front, the Kiwi was trading US71.14c by around 8am today from US70.19c at 5pm on Wednesday.
In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Thursday, market leader Telecom remained unchanged as second ranked Contact Energy collected 1.25% while Fletcher Building, the market's third best stock, gained 1.58%.
In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson and jewelery retailer Michael Hill International remained unchanged; Warehouse was up 2.22%. Among energy stocks, TrustPower stayed the same.
Among the dual listed issues, Australia and NZ Banking Corp was up1.69% and Telstra inched higher by 0.72%in early trading.
Among other notable stocks, Infratil picked up 1.21% and Mainfreight gained 2.09% and New Zealand Oil & Gas collected 2.54%, whereas New Zealand Farming Systems remained unchanged, Sky City inched higher by 1.02% and Sky Network Television rose 1.58% and Fisher & Paykel Appliances gained 1.92% as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare piled on 2.05%.
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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.