New Zealand stocks rose 52 points, or 0.4%, to a fresh record high of 13,673 on Thursday morning deals, extending gains for the 10th straight session. Sentiment was upbeat following Wall Street’s rebound on Wednesday as U.S. private payrolls jumped in October, while concerns over inflated tech valuations eased. Locally, Q3 unemployment edged up to 5.3%, the highest since 2016, bolstering expectations of further RBNZ easing later this month. Still, gains were capped by growing caution ahead of key data from China, New Zealand’s top trading partner, including October trade and inflation figures. Investors also awaited next week’s September visitor arrival data after strong August results. Early top performers included Sky Network TV (up 1.1%), Delegat Group (1.0%), Meridian Energy (0.9%), and Ryman Healthcare (0.7%).