Record-Breaking Kiwi Stocks Overtake China as Asia's Best Market

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand is now Asia Pacific’s best major stock market in 2019, unseating China, whose trade spat with the U.S. has sent its shares tumbling.

The S&P/NZX 50 Gross Index rallied Monday to extend the year’s advance to more than 16%. In China, stocks traded near their lowest since February as escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies wiped off about $1.1 trillion in value. The Shanghai Composite Index is now among the world’s worst-performing national benchmarks this quarter.

New Zealand is relatively insulated from the trade tensions, and that has sent its market to new heights. The Kiwi bourse is also home to many defensive stocks, a draw with investors in the current risk-off environment. The central bank has contributed to the bullish fervor by cutting interest rates to a fresh record low, becoming the first among developed-world economies to ease policy this cycle.

With a market value of about $90 billion, New Zealand is one of Asia’s tiniest equity markets -- only Pakistan and Sri Lanka are smaller -- but its index has steadily advanced to new records since 2013.

The rally may be nearing exhaustion, though. The nation’s stocks are projected to drop 5.9% over the next 12 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

--With assistance from Matt Turner and Matthew Burgess.

To contact the reporter on this story: Divya Balji in Singapore at dbalji1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net, Ravil Shirodkar, Joanna Ossinger

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.