Rates Angst Makes New Zealand Stocks a Laggard Ahead of Election

The country’s equity benchmark has slumped heading into the Oct. 14 vote as high interest rates and China’s slowdown damp its outlook. The S&P/NZX 50 Gross Index has fallen 6.2% this quarter, on track for the second-biggest drop among major indexes in the region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As households reel from a cost-of-living crisis and a real estate slump, the main opposition National Party claims increased government spending from the ruling Labour Party has stoked inflation and driven up interest rates. Labour is trailing in opinion polls ahead of the vote.China’s economic downturn has also curbed demand for commodities such as meat and milk, hampering the stock market’s consumer sector.

The commodity’s decline will “lead to a continued deterioration in the outlook for the New Zealand economy,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at IG Markets Ltd. As for the nation’s stocks, consumer shares will continue to crumble, she said.Softer-than-expected forward guidance in last month’s earnings season also positioned the market as a global laggard, according to UBS Group AG.

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