Highs on Wall St set positive lead for NZ as US, Iran keep talking

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index will start the week with a strong lead from Wall Street after chipmakers including Intel, Micron Technologies and Sandisk drove US stocks to new highs, although Australian futures are pointing to a more tentative day across the Tasman.

Sharesies’ favourite Rocket Lab shares soared on Friday by more than a third after the space company beat earnings expectations and signed new customers.

The odds of a lasting peace between the US and Iran are getting better on the Polymarket prediction market, with the Islamic Republic responding to President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Middle East conflict.

And the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund will be in view after the dairy exporter’s new chief executive Richard Allen outlined his aspirations in an interview with BusinessDesk.

New highs

The New Zealand dollar traded at 59.55 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 59.45 cents last week, while Australian futures are pointing to a 0.5% decline when the S&P/ASX 200 index opens across the Tasman as a stronger-than-expected jobs report in the US and continued confidence in the artificial intelligence theme buoyed chipmakers and semiconductor firms.

Intel jumped 14% on Friday in New York amid reports it signed a preliminary deal to supply Apple’s iPhone devices with chips.

A stronger US jobs report on Friday added to the upbeat sentiment, as the world’s biggest economy added 115,000 jobs in April, almost twice the 62,000 forecast by economists.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index rose 1% last week, driven largely by Infratil’s best week in more than five years after its CDC unit signed a transformational contract for capacity at its data centres.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally higher on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.7%.

“With US markets hitting fresh highs, bond yields easing, and tech sentiment remaining strong, the NZX is likely to open modestly higher this morning, potentially plus 0.2% to plus 0.4%,” Moomoo market strategy consultant Greg Boland said in a note. “Local attention today may focus on healthcare, tech, and growth names that could benefit from the strong Nasdaq lead”.

Boland said the softness in Australian futures suggested some caution across the region.

Stratospheric gains

Among US gainers on Friday, Rocket Lab surged 34% to US$105.47 after beating earnings and sales expectations in the March quarter and securing new contracts. The company has been a favourite among Sharesies users, and was the second-most traded US security by the platform’s clients on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Middle East conflict continued to weigh, with Brent crude oil futures nudging up 0.4% to US$100.49 a barrel.

Iran responded to the US proposal to end the war, but reportedly didn’t address US concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.

Still, prediction markets have priced in improving odds of a deal being reached, with Polymarket traders pricing in a 28% chance of peace by the end of May and 50% by the end of June.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co rose 0.8% on Sunday after reporting a 25% boost in quarterly profit, with increased exports through a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

The kiwi dollar traded at 43.78 British pence from 43.82 pence last week after UK prime minister Keir Starmer faced renewed calls for his resignation after the ruling Labour party suffered heavy losses in local body elections across the UK.

There’s no local data scheduled for today, while dual-listed ANZ Group Holdings sheds rights to its upcoming 83 cents per share dividend.

The Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund will be in view after new Fonterra chief executive Richard Allen told BusinessDesk he plans to grow the dairy cooperative, with future investment likely to be in New Zealand.

Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Toomas Tartes on Unsplash.