New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index snapped a two-day decline as inflation expectations cooled in the Reserve Bank’s latest survey of business managers, offering some relief that firms won’t necessarily hike prices in the wake of the latest fuel shock.

Logistics group Mainfreight, courier operator Freightways and national gateway Auckland International Airport were among those underpinning the day’s gains, while exporter Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rallied as the kiwi dollar followed wholesale swap rates lower.

ANZ Group Holdings led the local bourse higher after the smallest of Australia’s big four banks reported a smaller decline in mortgage applications than its rivals, with chief executive Nuno Matos’s transformation programme making headway into trimming its costs.

And Vital Healthcare Property Trust declined as the medical property landlord lifted annual earnings and said it expected to pay a similar distribution to unitholders in the coming year.

On the up

The NZX 50 rose 87.64 points, or 0.6%, to 13,825.3, with 22 stocks gaining, 21 declining and seven unchanged. The S&P/NZX 20 index futures contract for September was untraded, while the NZX 20 climbed 0.7% to 7,793.27.

Turnover across the main board was $162.1 million, of which Contact Energy accounted for $26.7 million as it advanced 1.1% to $9.13.

The local bourse was among the better performers in a mixed day across Asia, as Commonwealth Bank of Australia weighed on the S&P/ASX 200 index – down 0.4% in late trading – while Singapore’s Straits Times Index dipped 0.4%. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s tech rally buoyed the artificial intelligence trade in South Korea and Japan, with the Kospi gaining 3.9% and the Nikkei 225 advancing 1.5%.

New Zealand’s stock market got a tailwind from the Reserve Bank’s survey of expectations showing inflation expectations coming back within the central bank’s target band of 1%-to-3%, prompting bond traders to dial back their bets on aggressive rate hikes. The two-year swap dropped 6 basis points to 3.59%, while the kiwi dollar slid to 58.32 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.67 cents yesterday.

“There’s a bit of optimism in there,” said Greg Smith, investment specialist at Generate Investment Management. “Maybe the commercial banks got a little ahead of the Reserve Bank” in hiking their own lending and deposit rates, he said.

Exporter F&P Healthcare was among the biggest drivers for the benchmark, rising 1.4% to $42.80, while Mainfreight climbed 3.1% to $69.01 and Auckland Airport increased 0.8% to $8.71. Freightways gained 1.1% to $14.05 and Air New Zealand advanced 1.2% to 42 cents.

New mortgages

Dual-listed lender ANZ led the NZX 50 higher, jumping 5.2% to $45.77 after reporting a decline of 12% in mortgage applications since the Australian federal budget’s property tax changes, compared to a 20% slump for Westpac Banking Corp and a 15% slide for CBA. The bank’s June quarter cash profit nudged higher as CEO Matos’s turnaround programme showed improvements in the lender’s operating cost-to-income ratio.

Westpac increased 2.9% to $43.23, while Heartland Group Holdings gained 1.7% to $1.225.

Vital Healthcare slipped 2.7% to $1.84 after the medical property investor reported a 24% lift in adjusted funds from operations and kept its distributions unchanged at 9.75 cents per unit, a level it said it expected to pay in the coming year as well.

Vulcan Steel posted the biggest decline on the day, down 2.7% at $6.07, while Serko dropped 2.7% to $1.625 and Gentrack declined 2.6% to $3.70.

Argosy Property was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 3.2 million shares changing hands as the commercial landlord dipped 1% to $1.02.

Retirement village operators were mixed after Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures showed flat house prices in July, with sales activity remaining weak.

Wesley Tanuvasa, an economist at ASB Bank, said the housing market still looked K-shaped and would likely stay largely dormant for the rest of the year.

“The nationwide days to sell ticked up to 47 (seasonally adjusted) and remains well above pre-covid norms – buyers have time to be picky and they’re using it,” Tanuvasa said in a note.

Summerset Group Holdings decreased 0.9% to $8.16 and Oceania Healthcare declined 0.6% to 78 cents, while Ryman Healthcare advanced 1% to $2.07. Materials firm Fletcher Building gained 0.3% to $3.76 while property developer Winton Land rose 4.6% to $1.26.

Outside the benchmark, Warehouse Group rose for a third day, up 4.6% at 69 cents, while Scott Technology added to yesterday’s surge, advancing 3.3% to $2.80.

Taiko Critical Minerals increased 1.8% to 28 cents after reaffirming its pathway to commercial production at today’s annual meeting.

Reporting by Paul McBeth.