The complacency of the New Zealand banking and life insurance sectors in the face of the Australian inquiry into financial services misconduct was "frustrating" and "difficult to comprehend," the chief executive of the Financial Market Authority, Rob Everett, said today.

New Zealand shares were mixed, weighed by some profit-taking in the A2 Milk company and a slide in Tourism Holdings.

New Zealand shares fell as a gloomy local construction sector and warnings about the state of building conditions in Australia weighed on Fletcher Building.

Simplicity founder Sam Stubbs says New Zealand managers only have so much control over international investments and that it's "too hard" to make exclusions on human rights grounds.

New Zealand shares rose, boosted by gains in Sky Network Television and Spark New Zealand after they cut a deal that will let the pay-TV operator's commercial customers access the rugby world cup using a Sky decoder.

New Zealand shares rose as A2 Milk and Synlait Milk were buoyed by a strong June quarter for infant formula maker Bubs Australia. Ebos Group led the market higher on a light volume.

New Zealand shares fell, led lower by Sky Network Television, as investors remain wary of the pay-TV operator's plans to get into online streaming. A2 Milk's sheen also came off in a regional sell-off.

New Zealand shares bounced back from yesterday's dip, as A2 Milk Co closed at a record with investors still upbeat about the milk marketing firm's outlook. Gentrack dropped to a six-week low after cutting its earnings guidance.

New Zealand shares were mixed after five successive daily gains with leading stocks A2 Milk, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Ryman Healthcare surrendering some of their recent gains.

A sweeping review of the Resource Management Act opens the way to splitting the law relating to environmental protection and urban development back into two separate pieces of legislation as Environment Minister David Parker concedes the 28-year-old law needs a total overhaul.

New Zealand shares extended their gain as Mainfreight and A2 Milk Co hit highs on strong demand for the export-focused stocks that have reliably outperformed expectations. Sky Network Television led the market higher.

New Zealand shares rose for a fourth day, outperforming the rest of Asia, as exporters including A2 Milk Co, Mainfreight, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare all gained. Sky Network Television led the market higher.

New Zealand shares remained in record territory as passive investment funds appeared to support the upward trend in school holiday-affected trading. Tourism Holdings led the market higher when it resumed trading.

The Reserve Bank says it hasn’t changed its approach to applications for changes of ownership of life insurance companies and nor has there been any change in New Zealand insurance law or regulations since October 2018.

New Zealand shares outperformed Asia as companies offering reliable dividends helped lift the benchmark index to a record. Meridian Energy and Z Energy led the market higher.

Australia's ANZ Bank has taken another hit, with the international credit rating agency Fitch downgrading the bank's operations in both Australia and New Zealand from a 'stable' to a 'negative' outlook, citing "material shortcomings in operational risk management, which were not aligned with the assessment Fitch had previously incorporated into its ratings".