Daily Dispatch: NZ dollar hits three-month high against US dollar

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Stocks across Asia were mixed in their latest session on Monday.

Market Summary

US markets moved higher on Monday as investors watched political news and prepared for a busy week of big corporate and AI earnings.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, meanwhile the Dow Jones and Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

Markets in Europe moved higher, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index ending its latest session up 0.24%.

Asian markets fell on Monday, led by sharp losses in Japan after the yen strengthened against the US dollar and most markets across the region remained cautious amid currency volatility.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.8%, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.1%.

Back here, S&P/NZX50 was essentially flat on Monday, with volumes muted thanks to Auckland Anniversary Day.

Of interest during the day was a constant drumbeat of speculation about an imminent US attack on Iran to overthrow its regime. The news sent gold to above US$5000 an ounce for the first time, soaring 2% from its Friday close to trade at US$5087 (NZ$8530) an ounce late-afternoon on Monday, New Zealand time.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar hit a three-month high against the US dollar, hitting US59.60c.

Software-as-a-Service fintech PaySauce said it had raised a total of $5 million, after an oversubscribed share purchase plan that closed in late January raised $1.5m, alongside $3.5m raised in a placement in December. New shares under the plan will start trading on January 30.

On the main board, top gainers included Manuka Resources, which was up 12.50% on the general boost in gold’s volume, as was New Talisman Gold Mines, which gained 4.55%. Green Cross Health rose 6.25%, while Pacific Edge advanced 3.89%.

Top decliners included Santana Minerals, which dropped 13.75% after news coverage floated the possibility the fast-track consenting process on the company’s Bendigo-Ophir gold mine in central Otago may take longer than expected because of technical complexities.

Bitcoin ETF dropped 3.86%; Bitcoin often falls when there is a flight to assets like gold.

Steel & Tube fell 2.94%, while Smart Healthcare Innovation ETF slipped back 2.73%.

Google is once again paying millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit.

In Sydney on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 was closed for Australia Day.

While we slept

Microsoft has revealed a second generation AI chip in effort to bolster its cloud business. The company said its new Maia 200 artificial intelligence chip offers 30% higher performance than alternatives for the same price and these have already started to be available in US data centres. The potential alternative to processors from Nvidia and cloud rivals Amazon and Google, Microsoft’s new chips come two years after Microsoft said it had developed its first AI chip.

Google has agreed to pay US$68m ($113m) to settle a lawsuit claiming that ⁠its voice-activated assistant spied inappropriately on smartphone users. A preliminary ‍class action ‍settlement was filed late Friday night in the San Jose, California federal court, CNBC reports. Smartphone users accused the tech giant of illegally recording and disseminating private conversations after Google ⁠Assistant was triggered, in order to send them targeted advertising.

What’s up today

In today’s The Post, Tom Pullar-Strecker reports gold has jumped to a fresh high as tensions with Iran grow, questions mount after MethaneSat embarrassment, and smart power use could cut bills and save $3 billion, EECA study suggests. Martin Hawes writes making a financial plan for the worst of times could turn out to be a good resource to have.

Stats NZ livestock slaughtering data and vehicle registration data will be released.