Five sleeps until the big day and a Christmas rally was nowhere to be seen in either international or domestic markets.

With less than a week from Christmas, investors didn’t think Santa had dropped by earlier when dairy manufacturer Synlait Milk announced it was reducing its forecast milk price for the 2022-23 season.

Fletcher Building was the biggest news to hit the index as New Zealand’s sharemarket ended the day flat thanks to a trickle-through effect from US and NZ companies getting ready for the holiday season.

Auckland International Airport turned over $64.5 million in volume and traded close to eight million shares today after Auckland’s mayor made comments – now disputed – about the airport doing a capital raise and that Auckland council would be selling its 18% stake in the airport because of this.

Cooler-than-expected US consumer price figures overnight surprised some local investors and gave hope to others, leading to New Zealand’s sharemarket being flat through the day before dipping into the red by early evening.

New Zealand’s sharemarket had more pep in its step today ahead of key US inflation data coming out later tonight.

New Zealand’s main share index dipped ahead of major news this week, including NZ economic indicators, US inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s last policy decision for the year.

Big stocks like Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Contact Energy and Ryman Healthcare helped drag down a flat and slightly wilted New Zealand market today as investors wait for an onslaught of data to come out next week.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund Units rose on New Zealand’s market today after the dairy co-op hiked its earnings guidance.

Energy companies were up across the board in New Zealand’s market today, coinciding with carbon prices dropping at the last auction for the year.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked its cash rate by an expected 0.25 basis point to 3.1% this afternoon, warning that a further increase in inflation was expected over the months ahead.

The New Zealand market started the week on a strong footing, with the local stock market higher and the kiwi dollar hitting a 10-month high against its Australian counterpart.

New Zealand's main share index finished the week up 2.5% buoyed by strong earnings results from Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and a dovish speech from the US Federal Reserve.

The New Zealand dollar hit 63 cents against the US dollar today, the first time the kiwi has been that high against the greenback since August.

Christmas came early for Gentrack investors after its shares increased by almost 20% today, following an 18% jump yesterday.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's shares lifted the market higher after the healthcare manufacturer’s half-year earnings came out ahead of analyst expectations and the company’s own market guidance.