1 week Ago By Paul McBeth
New Zealand shares bucked the trend across Asia as they edged higher, with Gentrack and Infratil among the leaders after being added to an Australian index, meaning passive investors will have to track the local companies. The S&P/NZX 50 Index increased 6.11 points, or 0.
1%, to 12,621.62. Across the main board, 48 stocks rose, 99 fell and 32 were unchanged.
Turnover was $66.6 million, less than half the $137m daily average traded through August. The local market outperformed many of its peers across Asia, clawing back earlier losses on fears about the health of the US economy after jobs data on Friday in the US raised fears about whether the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut track will bring the world’s biggest economy in for a soft landing.
“We’ve been down further during the day and it looks like the US market will open positively, based on the futures,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “Some parts of the market are expecting a 25-basis point cut from the Fed next week and there’s concerns about what it means if they cut even deeper.” Gentrack led the benchmark index higher, rising 4.
4% to $10.88 and Infratil advanced 1.6% to a record close of $12.
09 after both companies said they’d been included in the S&P/ASX 300 Index from September 23. The inclusion means any passive investor tracking that index will need to buy a relative stake in each of those companies..
