The New Zealand dollar and the local stock market pushed higher in light trading on the second to last trading day for 2021.

A strong trading update for Michael Hill International provided some post-Christmas cheer as investors returned from the holiday break in a positive mood.

Z Energy shares slid after the Commerce Commission reiterated concerns about Ampol’s $2 billion takeover of the company.

New Zealand’s sharemarket is petering out in the run-up to the Christmas break and faces its first negative year in a decade as investors continue to grapple with the latest twists and turns of the covid-19 pandemic.

Ebos Group led the S&P/NZX 50 Index higher as healthcare stocks found themselves in favour as the omicron variant of covid-19 has investors pondering the next step in the pandemic.

Export companies were among the day’s winners on the local stock market as a weaker New Zealand dollar offered a boost at a time when inflation is rearing its head.

New Zealand's sharemarket was the standout across Asia, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare the top performer as the omicron variant of covid-19 keeps investors nervous about another round of lockdowns.

Fleet management company Eroad shares jumped 8% as it was added to New Zealand’s benchmark index after growing its market valuation by $165 million in the past year.

The US Federal Reserve’s signal it would hike interest rates and data showing the local economy shrank 3.7% in the September quarter helped push the NZ sharemarket lower.

Investors sent the New Zealand sharemarket's headline index down on Wednesday as they awaited the outcome of the world’s most important central bank meeting in the United States overnight.

New Zealand's main index today gave back half of yesterday’s rally as investors waited for a raft of central bank meetings and key data releases.

News that inflation is on the rise in the United States did not dampen the local sharemarket with investors feeling the result was not as bad as it could have been.

Business acquisitions by two of the sharemarket’s top stocks helped the NZX50 end the week with a small gain.

New Zealand shares gave back some of yesterday’s sudden rally, following the whims of global markets with little local news to trade on.

New Zealand shares chased Wall Street higher as a sudden turnaround in market sentiment sent key international indices up as much as 2% overnight.

New Zealand's headline share index was little changed even as some positive sentiment returned for investors waiting nervously for more hard data on omicron.