Asia
New Zealand Shares Fall Slightly; Fletcher Building Reduces Net Debt, Plans to Withdraw Credit Rating at Moody's
New Zealand shares ended lower on Wednesday, following shares on Wall Street downwards.The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.25%, or 33.15 points, to close at 13,392.98.On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.15%, the S&P 500 was down 0.57%, and the Dow Jones rose 0.64% on close. Investors are awaiting the first US Federal Reserve meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh.In domestic news, the New Zealand consumer confidence fell 14.3 points in the June quarter to 80.4 from 94.7 in the previous quarter, marking its lowest level since 2023, according to the Westpac-McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence index.New Zealand's current account deficit widened to NZ$4.55 billion in the March quarter, from NZ$4.45 billion in the previous quarter, Stats NZ data showed.In corporate news, Fletcher Building (ASX:FBU, NZE:FBU) is moving to withdraw its credit rating at Moody's as the company has made progress in its transition to a more stable capital structure. Following the divestment of its construction division and other property sales, Fletcher expects to be at the midpoint of its NZ$400 million to NZ$900 million net debt target range as of June 30.Seeka (NZE:SEK) expects 2026 net profit before tax in the range of NZ$38 million to NZ$42 million, compared with NZ$47.5 million in the previous year. The company issued its first earnings outlook for the year after the completion of the 2026 kiwifruit harvests across New Zealand and Australia, noting that kiwifruit underpins its overall financial performance.
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