The NZX 50 climbed 22 points, or 0.2%, to 13,571 in morning trade on Monday, the first session of 2026, after being flat in the previous session, as investors looked to build on gains from 2025. Gains in the energy, financial, communication services, and tech sectors primarily drove the index. The broader index tracked Wall Street’s upbeat session on Friday, amid questions over AI capital spending by software providers. Hopes of Fed interest-rate cuts this year also lifted sentiment, despite geopolitical tensions that capped gains following the US attack on Venezuela on Saturday and the capture of President Maduro. Meanwhile, traders anticipated the release of US jobs data and consumer and producer price data from China later this week to help guide the outlook for the Chinese economy, New Zealand’s top trading partner. Among early gainers were Infratil (1.4%), Delegat Group (0.9%), Contact Energy (0.8%), Fonterra (0.7%), and ANZ Group (0.6%).