30.11.202523:07:39UTC+00New Zealand Stocks Edge Up to Begin the Final Month of 2025

On the first trading day of December, the NZX 50 index experienced a slight increase, rising by 9 points or 0.1% to reach 13,498. This uptick extended gains from the previous session, primarily driven by the industrial services and healthcare sectors. The positive momentum was fueled by an encouraging lead from Wall Street's abbreviated Friday trading session and escalating predictions that the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates once more later in the month, based on weakening U.S. labor market data. Domestically, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered its cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% last week, marking the lowest rate since June 2022, in an effort to invigorate the languid economy. However, the overall gains were tempered by newly released data indicating a decline in New Zealand's building permits for October, the first decrease in four months. In other developments, key trading partner China released official PMI figures for November, highlighting an eighth consecutive month of contraction in the manufacturing sector, while the services sector contracted for the first time in nearly three years. Among the early standout performers were Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, rising by 1.9%, Scott Tech with a 1.4% increase, and Vector Ltd., which gained 1.0%.