S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
The NZX 50 climbed 136 points, or 1.1%, to close at 12,996 on Friday, erasing losses in morning trade and gaining for the third straight session, tracking a rally on Wall Street on Thursday, supported by solid first-quarter earnings reports. The broader index hit its highest level since April 16, mainly boosted by real estate, consumer staples, industrials, and financials. However, disappointing New Zealand economic data capped the gains, with consumer confidence plunging to its lowest level since May 2023 in April, following Thursday’s data, which showed business sentiment fell into negative territory for the first time since August 2023. Traders also anticipated the release of unemployment data for Q1 2026 next week, after the jobless rate hit its highest level since Q3 2015 in Q4 2025. Among top movers were Mainfreight (3.4%), A2 Milk (2.7%), Infratil (2.3%), and Westpac Banking Corp. (1.9%). For the week, the index rose 1.3%, the first increase in three weeks.
