New Zealand: Shares firm as consumer confidence grows, Aussie markets shut

NEW Zealand shares closed higher on Thursday (Sep 22), led by healthcare and growth stocks, after the country’s consumer confidence rose in the third quarter, though risk-off sentiment following another big rate hike by the US Federal Reserve capped gains.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed about 0.2 per cent to end at 11,524.21.

The country’s consumer confidence index in the third quarter rose to 87.6 from 78.7 in the previous quarter. A reading above 100 indicates more optimists than pessimists.

Global investor sentiment, however, turned sour after the Fed hiked rates by a massive 75 basis points and projected raising them further and faster than investors had expected in order to tame inflation.

Payment services provider Pushpay Holdings led gains on the index to climb 2.7 per cent, followed by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which advanced 1.5 per cent

Fonterra rose as much as 1.8 per cent to record their best day in a week after eking out a small increase in annual profit, as strong dairy prices globally offset a weather-related fall in milk production at home and a drop in Chinese demand due to lockdowns.

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New Zealand: Shares inch higher on Thursday, Australian markets closed

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Markets in Australia were closed for a holiday. The ASX 200 benchmark index had closed 1.6 per cent lower on Wednesday. REUTERS