Holiday blues make for quiet end to NZX year
The New Zealand sharemarket, drifting in the holiday season, is heading for a gain of just over 3% for 2025 – well below the performance of the previous year.
Tuesday, December 30th 2025, 6:41PM
by BusinessDesk
The S&P/NZX 50 Index fluctuated between an intraday low of 13,518.67 and high of 13,569.85 before closing at 13,548.13, up 22.14 points or 0.16%.
With a half-day trading session remaining in the year, the index has increased 3.3% compared with an 11.4% rise in 2024. The index gained 2.6% in 2023 and was down 12% in 2022 and 0.4% in 2021.
Trading was slightly higher on the local market, with 18.59 million shares worth $60.6 million changing hands.
There were 73 gainers and 55 decliners on the main board.
Another quiet day
Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said it was another in-between day with market participants away and very little news flow.
He said there was a choppy end to the session, with some investors “doing what they need to do” in rebalancing their portfolios before the end of the year.
“Overall, the performance of the NZX 50 this year has been disappointing,” said Solly. “We’ve seen a strong performance globally but not in our part of the world.
“The local market has been underpinned by the mid- to small-cap stocks whose fuse was lit when the Reserve Bank got constructive and started cutting interest rates. But the top end of the market has under-performed.”
Primary sector leads
Solly said among the performers have been Sanford, a2 Milk, Fonterra and Scales Corp.
“That’s great for New Zealand because it tells us the primary sector has had a good year.
“Tower, Channel Infrastructure, Napier Port, Sky TV, Freightways and Turners Automotive have also dominated. Channel is being described in Australia as the New Zealand interloper because it’s started aggregating assets over there,” said Solly.
Top four sluggish
The top four stocks have lagged the NZX 50. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is down 3.5% for the year, Meridian 7.8%, Infratil 10.56% and Auckland International Airport is down 4.8%.
Solly said the local market had a tough first half of the year but “we’ve seen a recovery as the year has gone on. The index increased 15.5% from the end of June and this has put the market in a solid place”.
“Companies are now well-positioned for uncertainty and able to manage risk, the economy is ticking up and the market is looking solid for next year,” Solly said.
US uncertainty
There was uncertainty in the US markets and technology stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.51% to 48,461.93 points; the S&P 500 down 0.35% to 6905.74; and the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.5% to 23,474.35.
Tesla declined 3.27% to US$459.64 (NZ$791.51); Nvidia was down 1.21% to US$188.22 ($324.11); Oracle decreased 1.32% to US$195.38 ($336); and Palantir shed 2.4% to US$184.18 ($317.16).
Even with the pullback, the S&P 500 is still up more than 17% for the year, while the Dow has gained over 14%. The technology-driven Nasdaq has risen more than 22%, despite briefly entering bear-market territory in April after President Trump announced sweeping new tariffs.
Freightways on move
Back home, Freightways – up 35.75% for the year – continued its strong run by gaining 22c to $14.43. a2 Milk added 10c to $10.75, Mercury Energy added 8c to $6.48; and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 18c to $37.65.
Sanford – gaining 77% this year – increased 17c or 2.34% to $7.45; Ebos Group rebounded 12c to $27.75; SkyCity was up 1.5c to 90c; Scales Corp added 15c or 2.57% to $5.98; and Eroad gained 2.5c or 2.02% to $1.265.
Retailers Hallenstein Glasson collected 12c to $9.88, and Michael Hill increased 1.5c or 3.85% to 40.5c.
Wine exporter Delegat Group was up 8c or 1.78% to $4.58, and Foley Wines increased 3.5c or 5.69% to 65c.
Gentrack again slid, down 16c or 1.85% to $8.47; Summerset decreased 20c to $12.15; AFT Pharmaceuticals declined 10c or 2.86% to $3.40; and Vulcan Steel declined 15c or 1.81% to $8.15.
Santana Minerals was down 3c or 2.78% to $1.05 after the price of gold hit a two-week low on Monday.
Small caps busy
The small-cap stocks were again to the fore. Hospitality group Savor was up 1c or 4.88% to 21.5c; Solution Dynamics gained 2.5c or 3.7% to 70c; and Pacific Edge collected $0.005 or 2.78% to 18.5c.
| « NZ sharemarket flat in post-Christmas trading | NZX50 gains, shrugging off Venezuela ouster in first trading day of 2026 » |
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