New Zealand Equities Down 0.4% at Close

The ANZ 50 lost 46.15 points or 0.4% to finish at 11,631.60 on Tuesday, mirroring a weak session on US shares Monday, amid bets for a higher US Federal Reserve terminal rate following an unexpectedly strong US services data during November.

In Australia, the RBA hiked its cash rate by 25bps as expected while mentioning further rate increases to tame high inflation.

Locally, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's popularity has plunged to its lowest level since 2017 when she took office, due to concerns over cost of living crisis, high-interest rates, and increasing prevalence of violent crime.

Energy minerals, consumer durables, utilities, and retail trade dragged down the index, amid losses from Manawa Energy (-2.8%), Argosy Property (-3.7%), Serko Limited (-2.7%), Pacific Edge Ltd (-2.2%), AFT Pharmaceutical (-2.1%), and Tourism Hlds (-1.9%).