NZ sharemarket starts December down 0.3%

The New Zealand sharemarket opened the new month on a quiet note, but investor sentiment is building for a solid finish to the year as the economic recovery takes hold.

Monday, December 1st 2025, 6:36PM

by BusinessDesk

Following the post-Thanksgiving Wall Street rebound, the S&P/NZX 50 Index traded strongly in the morning but then eased off to close at 13,448.49, down 40.66 points, or 0.3%.

There were 63 gainers and 81 decliners on the main board, with 30.9 million shares worth $118.8m changing hands.

The index traded between an intraday high of 13,528.42 points and a low of 13,416.82.

‘Things are getting better’

Mark Lister, investment director at Craigs Investment Partners, said the local market was doing its own thing with its safe, steady approach.

But he said it was becoming clearer that the economy was recovering and “hopefully we will have a solid December on the market and provide a very good backdrop going into 2026”.

Business confidence was at its highest in 11 years, retail sales were good, and the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) was done with official cash rate (OCR) reductions, Lister said.

Building permits for new dwellings were up 6.2% for the year ending October – another data point that shows the economy has stabilised and “things are getting better”.

Lister said that with interest rates coming down, investors will be looking for opportunities to make their money work harder, such as higher-yielding dividend stocks.

ASB Bank said more green shoots were sprouting, reinforcing the view that the economic recovery should look more assured by February, when the following OCR directions are announced.

ASB believes any further cuts are only likely if the economy is set to underperform expectations to the point that inflation will sit in the bottom half of the inflation target, without a further push from lower interest rates.

ASB said following the 25-basis points reduction in the OCR last week, term wholesale interest rates jumped, which “we don’t see as being particularly helpful for the Reserve Bank given the large number of borrowers who will be refixing their interest rates in the coming months”.

The markets have gone through an edgy November. The NZX 50 eased 0.4% after six months of gains, and the S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 3%. The Nasdaq Composite, down 1.5%, had its first monthly decline since March amid profit-taking in big AI technology stocks.

In the United States, the latest trading saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average increase 0.61% to 47,716.42 points; the S&P 500 gain 0.54% to 6,849.09; and the Nasdaq improve 0.65% to 23,365.69.

Across the Tasman, the ASX 200 was down 0.59% to 8,563.20 points at 5.45pm NZ time.

Local stocks

Back home, market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 13c to $37.43 following its strong half-year result last week.

Fletcher Building gained 8c or 2.39% to $3.43; Freightways collected 23c to $14.18; and Port of Tauranga added 12c to $7.70.

Summerset gained 17c to $12.72; Scott Technology increased 14c or 4.9% to $3; Ventia Services gained 15c or 2.29% to $6.90; and Vista Group rebounded 10c or 3.85% to $2.70.

One of the quiet performers on the market, primary care provider Third Age Health, gained another 20c or 3.15% to $6.55, having risen nearly 190% over the past 12 months. The stock began its climb in early May from $2.76.

Sanford’s run stalled after falling 32c or 4.27% to $7.17; a2 Milk fell 34c or 3.09% to $10.65; Eroad declined 8c or 5.23% to $1.45; and Turners Automotive was down 19c or 2.35% to $7.88.

Gentrack declined 20c or 1.86% to $10.55; Hallenstein Glasson was down 16c to $9.67; Heartland Group decreased 2.5c or 2.25% to $1.08; and ikeGPS fell 4.5c or 3.86% to $1.12.

Cooks Coffee increased 1.5c or 6.67% to 24c after reporting a 111% rise in revenue to $5.76m for the six months ending September, with operating profit at $68,000.

SkyCity was down 1.5c or 1.79% to 82.5c after announcing the NZ International Convention Centre will open on Feb 11 with a dawn blessing, public day and live concert during the first few weeks.

Global trade software company TradeWindow was up 0.010c to 33c after telling the market it has had confirmation to list on the Australian ASX, subject to the settlement of the recent $5.8m capital raise.

On the other hand, another software firm, Locate Technologies, specialising in last-mile delivery and logistics, is transferring from the ASX and listing on the NZX on Wednesday.

Locate listed on the ASX in September 2021 and has been trading at A5.8c (NZ6.62c). The company raised $1m at NZ7.5c a share in preparation for the NZ listing.

Tags: Market Close