The New Zealand share market opened modestly higher on Friday after receiving another positive lead from Wall Street, where US stocks closed higher overnight after being bolstered by some better-than-expected economic news.
The benchmark NZX 50 index gained 9.58 points or 0.31% to 3,092.07 shortly after the market opened on Friday. Meanwhile, the broader NZX All Capital index collected 9.35 points or 0.30% to be at 3,127.65.
New Zealand's share market posted its second straight gain on Thursday. At the close, the benchmark NZX-50 index was at 3,082.5, a gain of 5.38 points or 0.2 percent. The NZ Stock Exchange reported trading volume of 45.9 million shares valued at NZ$84.8 million.
Overseas, US stocks extended the upside seen in the previous session on Thursday, ending notably higher ahead of Friday's landmark jobs report following the release of upbeat data on pending home sales and weekly jobless claims.
Boosting sentiment this morning was data from the National Association of Realtors showing a 5.2 percent increase in its pending home sales index in July. Economists had been expecting the index to come in unchanged.
The mood on Wall Street was also helped by a report from the Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims edged down to 472,000 in the week ended August 28th, below the 475,000 estimated by economists.
Continued growth in August retail sales also helped to elevate risk appetite, with Target (TGT) reporting a 1.8 percent increase same-store sales, Saks' (SKS) sales rising by 1 percent, Kohl's (KSS) seeing 4.5 percent growth and sales by wholesaler Costco (COST) jumping by 7 percent.
In other corporate news, Hewlett Packard (HPQ) beat out rival Dell Inc. (DELL) in a bidding war for electronic storage firm 3Par (PAR), offering a winning bid of $33 per share, or a total of approximately $2 billion.
Additionally, fast food giant Burger King (BKC) closed markedly higher after the firm entered an agreement to be purchased by private capital firm 3G for $24 per share or nearly $4 billion, including debt.
All the major US averages saw steady upside in the second half of the day, eventually ending near their best levels of the session. The Dow gained 50.63 points or 0.5 percent to end at 10,320.10, the Nasdaq advanced by 23.17 points or 1.1 percent to 2,200.01 and the S&P 500 rose by 9.81 points or 0.9 percent to 1,090.10.
Meanwhile, reports of an explosion in an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico pushed up oil prices. October crude oil settled up $1.11 at $75.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, recovering from an intraday low of $73.11.
On the currency front, the New Zealand dollar was buying US71.44c by 8 am on Friday, after briefly touching a high of about US71.80c during the night. In comparison, the kiwi was buying US71.28c at 5pm on Thursday.
In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Friday, market leader Telecom added 0.99%, as second ranked Contact Energy gained 0.18% and Fletcher Building, the third best stock, advanced 0.26%.
In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson, clothing retailer Kathmandu Holdings, jewelry retailer Michael Hill International, Pumpkin Patch and Warehouse remained unchanged. Among energy stocks, TrustPower collected 0.28% and Vector remained unchanged in the early trading.
Among the dual listed issues, AMP, Australia and NZ Banking Corp, APN News & Media and Telstra remained unchanged, as Westpac Bank surged 1.05% in the early trading on Friday morning.
Among other notable stocks, Fisher & Paykel Appliances, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Infratil, Mainfreight, New Zealand Refining Company, NZ Farming Systems, Sky City and Steel & Tube Holdings remained unchanged, as Nuplex added 0.63%, New Zealand Oil & Gas collected 0.83%, Sky Network Television advanced 0.60% and Tower fell 0.53%.
Meanwhile, Auckland International Airport fell 0.49%, AMP NZ Office Trust surged 1.37%, Goodman Property Trust added 1.08%, ING Property Trust surged 2.86%, Kiwi Income Property Trust jumped 1.04%, NZX Limited collected 0.72%, Rakon advanced 0.86% and Restaurant Brands NZ climbed 0.81%, as Air New Zealand Ebos, Freightways, Property for Industry, PGG Wrightson and Port of Tauranga remained unchanged.
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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.