New Zealand Shares Flat, Asian Shares Mixed Amid Tariff Fears; Inflation Steady in Q4 2024

MT Newswires Live
22 Jan

New Zealand shares were subdued on Wednesday while Asian shares were mixed as US President Donald Trump's initial policy agenda continued to unfold.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed at 13,037.14.

Shares in Asia were mixed, with the Shanghai SSE and Hong Kong Hang Seng down 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.

Investor sentiment turned sour after US President Donald Trump revealed discussions on a 10% tariff on Chinese goods as early as Feb. 1, media outlets reported.

In domestic news, New Zealand's annual inflation was at 2.2% in the December 2024 quarter, unchanged from the prior three-month period, per Stats NZ data. Non-tradable inflation eased to 4.5% from 4.9%.

The housing market value in New Zealand fell in 2024, with the nationwide REINZ House Price Index down 1.1%, according to a Wednesday report from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

In corporate news, Pacific Edge (NZE:PEB, ASX:PEB) reported total laboratory throughput of 7,092 tests for the fiscal third quarter ended December 2024, a 0.7% rise from the prior three-month period. It also revealed plans to seek a preliminary injunction in the US in the wake of Novitas' reimbursement exclusion. Shares were down nearly 5%.

Elsewhere, Chorus (NZE:CNU, ASX:CNU) said total fiber connections rose by about 6,000 lines to nearly 1.1 million connections in the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024.

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