New Zealand stocks increased 54 points or 0.4% to 12,813 in Wednesday morning trade, partly rebounding from a 1.2% slump in the previous session amid bargain hunting. A rally on Wall Street Tuesday also lifted sentiment after an in-line US inflation figure strengthened bets the Fed could cut rates in September. Optimism was further boosted by the extension of a US-China trade truce, encouraging investors to add new positions, with gains led by logistics, healthcare, and consumer non-durables. In Australia, the central bank cut the cash rate by 25bps to the lowest level in two years of 3.6%, aligning with forecasts amid mild inflation. Locally, electronic card spending rose 0.2% in July, marking the second month of growth, though easing from June’s 0.5%. Upside remained constrained as markets awaited New Zealand’s July business PMI and food price figures. Early movers included A2 Milk (1.7%), Spark NZ (1.6%), Summerset Group (1.2%), and Ebos Group (1.0%).