The New Zealand dollar is firmer ahead of Australian inflation data and after the Bank of Japan came out with an open-ended stimulus programme. The kiwi was at 84.04 US cents at 8am, up from 83.99 cents at 5pm yesterday. It fell to 74.51 yen, from 75.17 yen at 5.20pm on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan disclosed monetary policy …

Wall Street advanced amid optimism that quarterly corporate earnings will continue to surpass modest expectations. Shares of Freeport McMoRan, Travelers Cos and DuPont received a boost from their results that bettered expectations, rising 5.1 percent, 2.8 percent and 1.8 percent respectively. Johnson & Johnson, however, failed to deliver, and shares were last 0.6 percent lower. So far, 73 percent of …

New Zealand stocks eased slightly until a late rally, in line with cautious sentiment across the Asian region ahead of a crucial Bank of Japan decision to loosen monetary policy, announced just before 5pm local time. The NZX50 Index rose 1.90 points, or 0.45 percent, to 4,187.082. Within the index, 27 stocks rose, 16 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover …