New Zealand shares edged up 25 points or 0.2% to 12,983 in Wednesday morning trade, recovering from earlier losses on strength in process industries, energy minerals, and utilities. Sentiment improved amid modest Wall Street gains Tuesday and reports that U.S. President Trump may appoint economic adviser Stephen Miran to replace Lisa Cook on the Fed Board, after allegedly dismissing Cook over mortgage-related misconduct. Miran had previously been nominated for a separate Fed seat expiring in January. Locally, optimism grew around further RBNZ rate cuts after PM Luxon urged aggressive easing to stimulate growth, even with borrowing costs already at a three-year low of 3%. However, gains were tempered by caution ahead of August business and consumer confidence data. In China, January–July industrial profit figures will be due today, and official August PMI over the weekend. Early movers included T&G Global (3.5%), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (2.0%), and Delegat Group (1.7%).