NZ sharemarket up despite crypto concerns

Heavyweights Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Auckland International Airport and Infratil led the New Zealand sharemarket to a handy gain despite a sharp Wall Street dip on cryptocurrency concerns.

Tuesday, December 2nd 2025, 6:30PM

by BusinessDesk

Heavyweights Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Auckland International Airport and Infratil led the New Zealand sharemarket to a handy gain despite a sharp Wall Street dip on cryptocurrency concerns.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index opened weaker, hitting a morning low of 13,438.1, before recovering in the afternoon and closing at 13,502.77, up 54.28 points or 0.4%.

There were 67 gainers and 62 decliners on the main board, with trading reaching 33.02 million shares worth $125.88m.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Auckland Airport and Infratil, in the top four of NZ’s biggest listed stocks on market capitalisation, increased 57c to $38, 11c to $8.09 and 15c to $11.75, respectively.

'Unwinding of crypto'

Greg Smith, investment specialist at Generate, said buying continued following Fisher and Paykel’s well-received half-year result, and Infratil stands out as a lone wolf (on the local market) with its exposure to the data centre demand.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9% to 47,289.33 points, and the S&P 500 fell 0.53% to 6,812.63 points, as bitcoin posted its worst trading day since March. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.38% to 23,275.92 points.

Bitcoin fell from US$91,242 (NZ$159,384) to US$84,529, but after-hours trading saw the price rise to US$87,000.

Smith said the fall was related to concerns over the leverage in cryptocurrency.

“With the unwinding of crypto, money will go back into the more traditional asset classes.”

Also in the US, the latest Institute of Supply Management manufacturing survey came in softer than expected, with the index slipping to 48.2 - its weakest reading since July and the ninth straight month in contraction territory.

In NZ, the BWA Insolvency September quarterly report showed total insolvencies increased 5% from the previous quarter to 777. While this was 6% lower than the same period last year, the quarterly rise signalled ongoing stress for businesses burdened by legacy debt and tighter credit conditions, the report said.

While construction remains the largest contributor with 192 insolvencies in the September quarter, the sharpest increases came from transport and delivery (up 29% from the second quarter and 40% year-on-year), manufacturing (up 21% and 37%), and food and beverage (up 15% and 27%).

Local stocks

Other leading stocks making good gains were Channel Infrastructure, up 9c or 3.37% to $2.76; Ebos Group, up 28c to $28.61; and Napier Port, up 5c to $3.57.

Third Age Health gained another 24c or 3.05% to $6.79, while Bremworth added 2.5c or 2.84% to 90.5c.

In the property sector, Vital Healthcare Trust gained 5.5c or 2.85% to $1.98, and Property for Industry was up 4c to $2.47.

Gentrack declined 40c or 3.79% to $10.15; Summerset decreased 24c or 1.89% to $12.48; Briscoe Group was down 14c or 2.64% to $5.17, and Seeka shed 8c or 1.77% to $4.45.

Skellerup Holdings was down 12c or 2.2% to $5.33; Mainfreight drifted 87c to $67.05; and Eroad declined 4.5c or 3.1% to $1.40.

Scott Technology, down 9c or 3% to $2.91, told shareholders at the annual meeting that it was entering the 2026 financial year with solid momentum, ongoing demand for automation and productivity solutions, and a forward work pipeline of $169m.

Scott’s Destination 2030 growth plan has targeted revenue of $530m, up from $275m in FY25, with 35% of it coming from services, and a 14% increase in operating earnings (ebitda).

Air NZ, unchanged at 59.5c, carried 1.26m passengers in October, up 0.8% on the same month last year, and 5.2m for the year to date, an increase of 1.9%. The passenger load factor in October was 84.4% compared with 85.3%.

Domestic passengers were down 2.8% to 780,000, while passengers on the Tasman/Pacific routes increased 10.8% to 331,000.

Tourism Holdings, unchanged at $2.54, presented to the ASX CEO Connect conference, saying FY26 is a transition year for a return to growth, supported by the continued recovery in international tourism and rental revenue, alongside the expansion of its fleet in recent years to 8,564 recreational vehicles.

Uvre, unchanged at 22c, is changing its name to Minerals Exploration on the NZX, with Norman Seckold moving to chairman and Brett Mitchell becoming executive director.

New Talisman Gold Mines, presently in a trading halt, told the market it had pledges for short-term funding of $550,000 on terms still to be finalised, contingent on the successful negotiation with other long-term potential investors.

The gold miner said initial grades achieved were below expectations, and its first shipment netted US$21,700, resulting in the need for short-term cash flow support.

Tags: Market Close