NZX 50 falls as accelerating inflation keeps focus on oil prices

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index fell as Statistics NZ’s latest inflation reading showed the energy shock pushed consumer prices up at the fastest pace in more than two years, reinforcing expectations for the Reserve Bank to keep hiking interest rates and keeping the focus firmly on oil prices.

Local heavyweights were the main drags on the NZX 50, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Auckland International Airport, Port of Tauranga and Ebos Group among the day’s decliners.

Markets across Asia were mixed as a recovery in tech stocks fuelled gains in Japan and South Korea, with Gentrack and Infratil local beneficiaries, while Australia’s major banks were under pressure as Citi analysts predicted Commonwealth Bank of Australia would be the most successful adopter of artificial intelligence technology, and as British fintech Revolut won an Australian banking licence.

And AFT Pharmaceuticals gained after the US Food and Drug Administration issued a tentative approval for the drugmaker’s Scomara cream to treat facial angiofibromas in tuberous sclerosis.