New Zealand: Shares extend losses as inflation woes weigh; Australian markets shut

NEW ZEALAND shares slipped on Monday (Jun 13) to mark their lowest level since June 2020, the decline in line with global markets, as red-hot US inflation data fuelled investor worries about more aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index lost 1.9 per cent to finish the day at 11136.3, extending losses for a third straight session. Trading was thin as about 19.3 million shares changed hands, compared with the 30-day average of 32.2 million shares.

Markets in Australia were closed for a public holiday.

The US consumer price index increased by a bigger-than-expected 8.6 per cent last month, the largest year-on-year increase since December 1981, Labor Department figures showed on Friday.

Globally, investor sentiment was further dented after a Covid-19 warning from Beijing spurred concerns of more growth-strangling lockdowns only a short time after the city relaxed curbs to quell an outbreak from April.

Among individual stocks, motorhomes manufacturer Tourism Holdings gave up 3.4 per cent to log its second session of losses, while mining company Chatham Rock Phosphate added 5.1 per cent to be among the top gainers in New Zealand’s benchmark index.

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Asian markets slump after US inflation hits 40-year high, Fed rate hike hangs in balance

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Shares of Comvita, a company that manufactures and markets honey and other health products, skidded 0.6 per cent to slip for a third straight day. Still, the company forecast double-digit growth in net profit after tax for the full year. REUTERS