NZX50 surges as RBNZ cools expectations for a pre-election rate hike

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index posted its biggest gain since May after the Reserve Bank kept the official cash rate at 2.25% while playing down the prospect of a hike before November’s general election, which pushed down swap rates and knocked the kiwi dollar below 60 US cents.

Exporters such as index heavyweights Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Ebos Group paced gains on the benchmark as it snapped a three-day slide in a broad-based rally, joining the upbeat tone across Asia as the Lunar New Year keeps markets closed in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

Spark New Zealand and Fletcher Building got different responses to their respective earnings – both of which fell short of analysts’ expectations – with the telco on the red side of the ledger and the building materials firm on the green, while across the Tasman National Australia Bank’s December quarter trading update buoyed the S&P/ASX 200 index in late trading.

And Tower welcomed Naomi Ballantyne to the chair of the board after Michael Stiassny stepped down as a director after overseeing quite the reversal in the fortunes of the general insurer during his 12-year tenure.