May 14, 2019 - Economy & Business

The power of a central bank rate cut

Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals

While stock markets around the globe have turned lower following President Trump's declaration last Sunday that he would raise tariffs on Chinese imports to 25%, New Zealand has managed to shake off the trade war blues. The S&P New Zealand 50 is the world's lone major benchmark index in the green for May.

What's happening: Its central bank cut interest rates to the lowest level they've ever been last week, coinciding with a jolt higher in stock prices while the rest of the globe was mired in trade war uncertainty.

Yes, but: Rate cut euphoria doesn't last forever. The bourse fell 0.56% in Tuesday trading. However, it's still outperforming the S&P and MSCI's All-Country World Index by a wide margin this month.

Bonus: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's last cut was November 2016.

Go deeper: The trade war escalation is changing Fed outlooks

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