NZ sharemarket dips as big stocks weigh despite KMD gains

A positive result from KMD Brands couldn't life the NZ sharemarket on Wednesday.

Wednesday, November 19th 2025, 6:36PM

by BusinessDesk

The New Zealand sharemarket closed down on Wednesday despite positive updates from KMD Brands, Napier Port and Radius Healthcare as larger weighted stocks made their impact.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 0.12% or 15.92 points to 13,326.90 after 31 million shares worth $120.98 million were traded.

The S&P/NZX 20 index was down 0.15%, closing at 7619.43 points, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,704.57 after falling 0.12%.

There were 62 gainers on the main board and 80 decliners.

Generate investment specialist Greg Smith said results from the day gave insights into different exposures in the New Zealand economy.

'Shoots of positivity'

“There’s been some positive releases today in New Zealand, and the general flavour is glimpses or even maybe shoots of positivity,” Smith said.

KMD Brands released a first-quarter update for the 2026 financial year at its annual meeting, with total group sales lifting by 7.9% compared with the prior corresponding period, driven by a 13.9% lift in sales for Kathmandu.

“Obviously the acid test, as for most retailers, will be around Christmas trading and to a certain extent Black Friday, but it’s encouraging.”

KMD Brands’ share price lifted 5.45% or 1.5c to 29c after 480,525 shares changed hands on turnover worth $138,461.02.

Elsewhere, Napier Port reported a 24.4% increase in its net profit for the September year while lifting its dividend and painting a favourable earnings outlook for 2026.

“The result was above previous guidance, although they had flagged that they thought that might occur. I think again it’s symptomatic of an economy that’s getting a bit better," Smith said.

“I think the tourism vessel figures were interesting – a little bit less than expected, but that was outweighed by the positive forecast comments elsewhere.”

Its share price lifted 2.63% or 9c to $3.51 on turnover worth $609,595.95.

Radius Healthcare, meanwhile, rallied 6.67% to $0.40 after its half-year result, with its net profit increasing by 221% to $6.3m compared with the prior corresponding period.

Contact Energy fell 1.80% or 17c to $9.30 on turnover worth $12m, while Infratil fell 0.43% or 5c to $11.55 on turnover worth $6.7m.

Summerset Group fell 0.71% or 9c to $12.51, while Fletcher Building was down 0.30% or 1c to $3.37.

American slide

Stock markets slid across the board in the United States on Tuesday (US time) as investors worried about lofty tech valuations on the eve of earnings from AI chip titan Nvidia.

Bitcoin also briefly fell below the key US$90,000 level for the first time in seven months before rising to around US$93,000.

Major Wall Street indexes closed lower after a rough day of trading in Europe and a sharp sell-off in Asia, while Nvidia itself gave up 2.8%.

There was no cheer at the European close either as London, Paris and Frankfurt all shed more than 1%.

AI questions

After this year’s record stocks rally, traders have begun to question whether the billions poured into artificial intelligence will ever lead to big returns.

Investors will be looking for clues on the health of the industry when Nvidia releases its quarterly earnings on Wednesday (Thursday morning NZ time).

– Additional reporting AFP

Tags: Market Close