Equities in New Zealand slipped 23 points, or 0.2%, to 13,633 in early Wednesday trade, marking a fourth consecutive decline.
The drop followed Wall Street’s negative lead Tuesday as investors weighed muted U.S. inflation data, underwhelming JP Morgan earnings results, and renewed policy uncertainty under the Trump administration.
Sentiment was further cautious ahead of December trade figures from China, New Zealand’s top trading partner, after stronger-than-expected November exports and imports.
Locally, food inflation data for December is due later this week, following a slight slowdown in November.
Losses were partly offset by fresh figures showing building permits rebounded 2.8% in November after a 0.7% fall in October.
Consumer durables, retail, and healthcare weighed on the NZX 50, with notable declines from Briscoe Group (-2.7%), Summerset Group (-1.8%), Fletcher Building (-1.6%), and Port of Tauranga (-1.5%).