FX.co ★ New Zealand Stocks Start November Lower

The NZX 50 fell 95 points, or 0.7%, to 13,702 in Monday morning trading, wiping out gains from the previous three sessions and mirroring Friday’s decline on Wall Street driven by a selloff in major tech stocks. Sentiment was further dampened by caution ahead of the release of New Zealand’s Q3 unemployment figures later this week, after the jobless rate in Q2 rose to its highest level since Q3 2015.

Traders also grew more concerned about the prospect of an interest rate hike at the RBNZ’s December meeting, as the central bank maintains a tight policy stance to curb rising inflation. Adding to the pressure, fresh data showing a contraction in China’s manufacturing sector weighed on risk appetite, while investors continued to track developments in the Middle East and their implications for oil prices.

The broader index pulled back from the peak reached on Friday, its highest level since October 15, with weakness concentrated in energy, financial, and real estate stocks. Early notable decliners included Fletcher Building (-4.6%), Infratil (-1.8%), Meridian Energy (-1.3%), and Westpac Banking Corp. (-1.2%).