17.03.202622:59:18UTC+00New Zealand Shares Edge Higher Ahead of Fed Decision, Q4 GDP Data

New Zealand equities rose 29 points, or 0.2%, to 13,219 in Wednesday morning trade, extending the prior session’s gains after Wall Street closed modestly higher on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged later today. Investors largely shrugged off local data showing that Q1 consumer sentiment weakened, as households became more pessimistic amid rising fuel costs linked to tensions in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Q4 current account deficit narrowed to NZD 5.98 billion from NZD 8.36 billion in Q3, though it widened from NZD 5.0 billion a year earlier. Industrial and consumer services stocks led the advance, while losses in energy minerals and communications partly offset those gains. Among the early movers were Tourism Holdings (up 6.1%), Sky Network Television (up 3.0%), and PGG Wrightson (up 1.9%). Market attention now turns to Q4 GDP data for New Zealand and February trade figures for further direction.