New Zealand shares finished the day little changed after being caught up in a global sell-off yesterday when traders interpreted the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes as being hawkish.

New Zealand shares tumbled with Wall Street indices after United States Federal Reserve meeting minutes suggested the central bank might need to raise rates sooner than expected.

Infrastructure investment firm Infratil led the benchmark equity index higher in the first trading day of the year after one of its key assets had its valuation boosted 15%.

The New Zealand stock market slipped 0.4% in 2021, ending a nine-year positive streak as future earnings look to be increasingly in doubt.

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.