New Zealand Shares Fall; Freightways Group Appoints David Gibson as Chair
New Zealand shares ended lower on Thursday as Asian markets showed a broad-based decline amid the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold rates and Wednesday's Wall Street sell-off.The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 1.53% or 213.89 points to close at 13,762.78.On Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.7%, the S&P500 declined 1.5%, and the Dow Jones lost 2.2%.The Federal Reserve held its policy rate steady in a divided decision that included three officials calling for policy tightening. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, marking its fifth consecutive pause.On the domestic front, the ANZ New Zealand Business Outlook rose to a net 56.1 in July, up from 36.6 in June, while expected own activity rose to 49.3 from 36.9, according to a report from ANZ Research.In corporate news, Freightways Group (NZE:FRW, ASX:FRW) appointed board member David Gibson as chair to succeed Mark Cairns, effective Thursday.
