(RTTNews) - The New Zealand share market opened slightly lower on Wednesday, following a mixed overnight lead from Wall Street, where major U.S. averages closed on both sides of the unchanged line ahead of tomorrow’s Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates and economic outlook.

The benchmark NZX 50 index eased 6.75 points or 0.21% to 3,152.23 shortly after the market opened for the day. Meanwhile, the broader NZX All Capital index gave up 8.18 points or 0.26% to be at 3,169.57.

New Zealand’s market moved modestly lower on Tuesday. The benchmark NZX-50 index declined 24.7 points or 0.8 percent to close at 3,158.9. Turnover volume was reported by the NZ Stock Exchange at 40.2 million shares valued at NZ$78.5 million. There were 25 stocks closing higher, 51 were lower and 33 were unchanged.

Overseas, U.S. stocks saw a choppy trading session on Tuesday, despite some signs of life on the M&A front and positive news on factory orders. The major averages closed on opposite sides of the unchanged mark as some traders preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the release of key economic reports in the second half of the week.

In M&A news, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa) entered an agreement to acquire the remaining shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) it does not already own for $100 per share. The transaction is valued at approximately $44 billion and is the largest ever made by Warren Buffet’s firm.

Further, power tool maker Stanley Works (SWK) and Black & Decker Corp. (BDK) said that they have entered into a merger agreement to create Stanley Black & Decker, an $8.4 billion global industrial leader, in an all-stock transaction valued at about $4.5 billion.

Amid a relatively light day on the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that orders for manufactured goods increased by a little more than expected in the month of September. Factory orders increased by 0.9 percent in September following an unrevised 0.8 percent decrease in August. The increase in orders came in slightly above economist estimates for an increase of about 0.8 percent.

The major U.S. averages continued their sideways movement in late day trading, finishing on a mixed note. While the Dow fell by 17.53 points or 0.2 percent to 9,771.91, the Nasdaq closed up 8.12 points or 0.4 percent at 2,057.32 and the S&P 500 rose by 2.53 points or 0.2 percent to 1,045.41.

Crude oil prices turned higher on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday as investors awaited the Energy Information Administration inventory report tomorrow, as well as jobs data and the interest rate decision. Light sweet crude for December rose to $79.06 a barrel, up 93 cents on the session. Prices reached as high as $79.77.

On the currency front, the New Zealand dollar was buying US71.99c by 8am on Wednesday, little changed from its level at 5pm on Tuesday. Though the kiwi had slipped against the U.S. dollar at the begning of the overnight session, it recovered its loses in the early hours of Wednesday.

In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Wednesday, market leader Telecom remained unchanged, while second ranked Contact Energy dropped 0.98% and Fletcher Building, the third best stock, lost 0.49%.

In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson, Pumpkin Patch and Warehouse remained unchanged, as jewelry retailer Michael Hill International surged 3.13%. Among energy stocks, TrustPower collected 0.13%, as Vector remained unchanged in the early trading.

Among the dual listed issues, AMP added 0.27%, Telstra fell 0.49% and Westpac Bank eased 0.03%, as APN News & Media, Australia and NZ Banking Corp and Lion Nathan remained unchanged in the early trading on Wednesday morning.

Among other notable stocks, Nuplex lost 1.22%, Sky City fell 0.30% and Sky Network Television gave up 0.63%, as Mainfreight and Steel & Tube Holdings remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Fisher & Paykel Appliances dropped 1.56% and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dipped 0.97%.

The major losers included– Air New Zealand by 0.77%, Cavalier by 0.81%, Goodman Property Trust by 0.97%, Kiwi Income Property Trust by 0.92%, New Zealand Refining Company by 1.57%, Rakon by 0.87% and Tower by 1.74%.

The major gainers among the shares listed under the NZX 50 index on Wednesday morning included– Infratil by 0.63%, Methven by 0.60%, PGG Wrightson by 1.64%, Restaurant Brands NZ by 0.67%, and Ryman Healthcare by 1.55%.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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