Blue chips drag NZX50 higher as RBA hikes cash rate in close call

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New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index staged a late rally as heavyweight stocks including Infratil and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare buoyed the benchmark, with Asian markets bolstered by Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s projection of selling US$1 trillion of chips over the next two years.

The trans-Tasman markets had tapered off in the run-up to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy review, which delivered a quarter-point rate hike in a split decision as policymakers weighed up inflationary pressures already building with the threat posed by rising oil prices.

Tourism companies remained under pressure as the Iran conflict continues to intensify, with travel software developer Serko and rental campervan operator Tourism Holdings at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, domestic partial inflation figures from Statistics New Zealand showed rents and food prices eased in February, although economists are bracing for the impact of the petrol price surge to feed through when the March data arrives.