Consumer stocks led NZX 50 higher

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 120.79 points, or 0.9%, to 13,180.58. Turnover was $175 million.

The market followed a strong lead from Wall Street on Friday night, driven by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech which said bond buying would be tapered later this year, but an interest rate hike wouldn’t necessarily follow.

“The dovish overtones to the speech and Powell’s attempt to delink tapering from interest rate hikes were taken positively by the equity market, with the S&P 500 rising 0.9%, to a fresh record high, led by the cyclical sectors,” said BNZ rate strategist Nick Smyth.

Pay television operator, Sky TV led the market higher as it jumped 6% to 17.6 cents per share.