NZX50 inches higher buoyed by energy, infrastructure firms

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index inched higher for a sixth session as a late rally by energy and infrastructure firms such as Meridian Energy and Auckland International Airport buoyed the benchmark as softer interest rates made the companies’ reliable dividends more attractive.

Heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dipped after Forsyth Barr analysts raised a note of caution about the modest level of hospitalisations in the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, although its ASX-listed shares were stronger across the Tasman.

Vista Group International declined with the cinema analytics firm among those in the firing line if a successful Netflix takeover of Warner Bros Discovery leads to fewer movies making it to the big screen, while Sky Network Television gained, despite fears it might lose access to the valuable HBO library if the deal eventually wins.

Local steel products firms had a mixed response to BlueScope Steel’s board rebuffing a A$13.1 billion overture from the Stokes family-backed SGL and Nasdaq-listed Steel Dynamics.
Holding on