NZ sharemarket flat in post-Christmas trading
The New Zealand sharemarket finished flat post-Christmas, with small-cap stocks stealing the limelight in the light holiday trading.
Monday, December 29th 2025, 6:55PM
by BusinessDesk
The S&P/NZX 50 Index had a rocky day and was saved by a sharp rise in the last 45 minutes of the trading session, closing at 13,525.99 – down 3.07 points or 0.02% after reaching an intraday low of 13,482.12.
There were 77 gainers and 46 decliners on the main board with just 14.88 million shares worth $46.6 million changing hands.
Paul Robertshawe, chief investment officer for Octagon Asset Management, said volumes were typically low at this time of the year and the smaller stocks did tend to drift upwards.
Move Logistics increased 1c or 4% to 26c; Pacific Edge was up 0.009c or 5.26% to 18c; and ArborGen improved 0.006c or 4.76% to 13.2c. Mining stocks also featured, with Manuka Resources topping the list of gainers by rising 1.2c or 13.3% to 10.2c; and Santana Minerals rising 4c or 3.85% to $1.08.
Manuka’s New Zealand subsidiary, Trans-Tasman Resources, is advancing its offshore vanadium-rich iron sands project in the South Taranaki Bight through the Fast Track Approvals process – the project is now under expert panel review.
Retail spending mixed
Robertshawe said from what he’s read, retail spending has been pretty mixed over the Christmas period.
“I thought that perhaps people were more confident and this would flow through to better spending. But it looks like spending is down slightly, and that’s disappointing.”
He said the retailers would likely release trading updates in January.
Among the retail stocks, KMD Brands was up 1c or 3.7% to 28c, and Michael Hill was down 1.5c or 3.7% to 39c.
Eyes on Wall Street
In the United States, all eyes are on whether the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P500 indices will push through the magical 50,000 and 7000 points levels respectively.
The release of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes and the latest unemployment data this week should dictate the market movements. From the minutes, investors are hoping for clarity on how the policymakers weighed inflation, economic growth and the path of interest rates.
The US markets were flat in their last trading session. The Dow Jones slipped 0.041% to 48,710.97 points; the S&P500 was down 0.03% to 6929.94; and the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.086% to 23,593.1.
Aussie down
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX200 Index was down 0.33% to 8733.4 points at 6pm NZ time.
Back home, market leaders Fisher & Paykel Healthcare decreased 39c to $37.47; Ebos Group declined 41c to $27.63; and Mainfreight was down 46c to $68.55. Gentrack increased 25c or 2.98% to $8.63; Freightways was up 17c to $14.21; a2 Milk added 13c to $10.62; and Sky TV gained 9c or 2.69% to $3.43.
The dual-listed banks Westpac and ANZ added 54c to $45.04 and ANZ 38c to $42.14 respectively.
Another small-cap stock, CDL Investments, gained 3c or 3.95% to 79c; Eroad rose 5.5c or 4.64% to $1.24; and Vital Healthcare Property Trust collected 5c or 2.53% to $2.03. A2 Milk has been one of the biggest performers over the past year, its share price rising 67.7%.
Sanford just tops that with a 70.85% increase, Ventia Services is up 76.98%; Synlait Milk 53.01%, Tower 47.2% Seeka 43%; T&G Global 49%; and PGG Wrightson has gained 42.86%.
Among other leading stocks, Freightways is up 34.79%; Fletcher Building has risen 26.3%, Napier Port 39.92% and Port of Tauranga 22.75%.
The highest performers on the NZX have been Third Age Health Services, rising 138.46%, Bremworth 107.8%, Santana Minerals 98%, and Radius Residential Care has increased 90.24%.
Three retailers slump for 2025
Three retailers feature among the worst performers. Michael Hill is down 40% over the past 12 months; KMD Brands declined 36.35%; and The Warehouse decreased 30.66%. Other decliners were Gentrack down 31.11%, SkyCity decreasing 32.55%; Ryman Healthcare 29.7%; Ebos 27.19%; Spark 22.53%; and Comvita falling 35%.
In local trading, Chatham Rock Phosphate was up $0.002c or 3.33% to 6.2c after telling the market it raised $196,106 through a private placement at 6.2c a share.
| « NZ sharemarket edges higher in quiet pre-Christmas trading session | Holiday blues make for quiet end to NZX year » |
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