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Mixed Opens Projected For New Zealand, Australia Stocks

By RTTNews Staff Writer   ✉  | Published:  | Google News Follow Us  | Join Us
rttnewslogo20mar2024

Mixed to higher opens are expected Thursday for the New Zealand and Australia sharemarkets.

Early in the session New Zealand traders, who saw gains on Wall Street overnight, will learn the country's GDP performance for Q2.

On Tuesday, the slide continued for New Zealand's sharemarket, which closed lower for a seventh straight trading session.

The benchmark NZX-50 index dropped 6.03 points or 0.18 percent to 3,424.35.

The NZ Stock Exchange reported trading volume of 77.45 million shares valued at NZ$189.55 million.

The list of the session's most actively traded stocks includes Auckland International Airport, which was unchanged, Contact Energy rose NZ$0.10, Fletcher Building was down .04, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up .02, F&P Healthcare was up .02, Rakon was up .02, Ryman Healthcare was down .11 and Telecom Corp of NZ was down .04.

For the Australia-NZ dual-listed stocks, AMP was down .02, Australia and NZ Bank was up .08, APN News & Media up .01, Goodman Fielder was up .02, Telstra was unchanged and Westpac Bank was unchanged.

Across the Tasman Sea, Australia's sharemarket closed higher, ending a two-session losing streak. Better than expected economic growth data from China boosted the market.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 19.4 points or 0.4 percent to close at 4,514.8. The broader All Ordinaries index was up 19.7 points or 0.4 percent at 4,583.2.

Trading volume was 2.139 billion shares valued at A$5.37 billion.

Trading came as China reported second quarter economic growth of 9.5 percent, easing fears of a major slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

The resources sector benefited from the data. Among the miners, BHP Billiton closed up A$0.17 and Fortescue Metals was up .10. Rio Tinto was down .29 despite reporting higher first half production and continued positive guidance.

Gold miner Newcrest mining was up .25.

In the financial sector, Australia and NZ Bank closed up .08, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was down .04, National Australia was down .12 and Westpac Bank was unchanged.

The U.S. stock market moved higher on Wednesday, although closing well off its early highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 12,491.61, a gain of 44.73 points or 0.36 percent. The Dow was higher by about 160 points earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite index closed up 15.01 points or 0.54 percent at 2,796.92 and the S&P 500 index was up 4.08 points or 0.31 percent at 1,217.72.

All of the other major Asia/Pacific region markets except Taiwan's closed higher on Wednesday.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 average rose 37.22 points or 0.37 percent to close at 9,963.14.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 263.72 points or 1.22 percent at 21,927.88.

China's Shanghai Composite index was up 40.89 points or 1.48 percent at 2,795.48.

In India, the BSE 30/SENSEX index was up 184.40 points or 1.00 percent at 18,596.02.

The Jakarta Composite index in Indonesia was up 42.83 points or 1.09 percent at 3,980.84.

South Korea's KOSPI/Seoul Composite index rose 19.91 points or 0.36 percent to 2,129.64.

The Taiwan Weighted Index was down 2.95 points or 0.03 percent at 8,448.06.

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Global Economics Weekly Update - Jun 08-12, 2026

June 12, 2026 17:14 ET
Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.