NZX50 inches higher buoyed by energy, infrastructure firms
Vista and Sky had different responses to the latest Warners move.
Thursday, January 8th 2026, 5:59PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index inched higher for a sixth session as a late rally by energy and infrastructure firms such as Meridian Energy and Auckland International Airport buoyed the benchmark as softer interest rates made the companies’ reliable dividends more attractive.
Heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dipped after Forsyth Barr analysts raised a note of caution about the modest level of hospitalisations in the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, although its ASX-listed shares were stronger across the Tasman.
Vista Group International declined with the cinema analytics firm among those in the firing line if a successful Netflix takeover of Warner Bros Discovery leads to fewer movies making it to the big screen, while Sky Network Television gained, despite fears it might lose access to the valuable HBO library if the deal eventually wins.
Local steel products firms had a mixed response to BlueScope Steel’s board rebuffing a A$13.1 billion overture from the Stokes family-backed SGL and Nasdaq-listed Steel Dynamics.
Holding on
The NZX50 edged up 1.84 points, to 13,716.86 after a late swing in relatively light trading. Within the index, 24 stocks gained, 21 declined and five were unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $66.6 million, compared to the $139 million daily average in December. Of that, Auckland airport accounted for almost $11 million as it advanced 0.5% to $8.50.
New Zealand’s largely renewable energy companies were broadly stronger on the day, with Meridian Energy leading the benchmark higher as it gained 1.6% to $5.67, while Genesis Energy – which owns a stake of the Kupe oil and gas field – gained 1.2% to $2.45 and Contact Energy advanced 0.8% to $9.30. Mercury NZ decreased 0.6% to $6.55.
Utilities and infrastructure firms, often held for their reliable dividends, were among those buoying the index, with Port of Tauranga up 0.5% at $7.79 and Napier Port gaining 0.5% to $2.80, while telco Spark New Zealand increased 0.9% to $2.30.
The yield on New Zealand’s 10-year government bond fell 5 basis points to 4.44%, following its global peers as a cooling US jobs market keeps expectations elevated for the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates this year. The kiwi dollar fell to 57.68 US cents from 57.88 cents yesterday.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which accounted for $10.8 million of the day’s turnover, fell 0.3% to $38.90 after Forsyth Barr analysts noted a potential downside risk for the medical device maker after 26% decline in US respiratory hospitalisations through the winter from a year earlier as a jump in flu cases has been more than offset by falling cases of covid and RSV.
“At face value, down 26% thus far would suggest some downside risk, but we think it is too early to be drawing conclusions,” Forsyth Barr analyst Matt Montgomerie said in a note to clients.
“We leave our above guidance forecasts unchanged at this point, noting that while the northern hemisphere respiratory season has typically peaked at this time (or next week), the range of respiratory hospitalisation outcomes from now until F&P Healthcare’s balance date has been extremely wide through history.”
Across the Tasman, F&P Healthcare’s shares were up 0.7% at A$33.35 in late trading, joining a sector-wide rally in Australia. The kiwi dollar rose to 85.93 Australian cents from 85.64 cents yesterday.
Making movies
Vista Group International posted the biggest decline on the NZX50, falling 4.2% to $2.51 after Warner Bros Discovery’s board urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s latest takeover bid for the media group, preferring directors’ favoured deal with streaming giant Netflix. Vista’s cinema analytics business is often tied to box office activity, and there is speculation that Netflix would pull back on its big screen offering if successful.
Meanwhile, Sky Network Television rose 0.9% to $3.45. The pay-TV operator’s share price has been pushed around by headlines on the Warners deal due to its long-standing relationship with the US major in airing HBO content on New Zealand screens.
In other takeover news, ASX-listed BlueScope Steel’s board rebuffed a A$30 per share offer from the Stokes family-backed SGL and Nasdaq-listed Steel Dynamics, calling it opportunistic and undervaluing the steelmaker.
New Zealand steel firms had rallied on the offer entering the headlines, and were mixed after the rejection as Vulcan Steel slipped 0.2% to $8.63 and Steel & Tube Holdings declined 2.2% to 65.5 cents, while Fletcher Building advanced 0.3% to $3.81.
NZX fell 1.9% to $1.52 after the stock market operator’s December metrics showed the total value of trading dipped 0.9% across the bourse last year to $41.16 billion.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
| « Record close for NZX50 as F&P Healthcare buoys market | NZX50 snaps 6-day run higher; caps 1.1% weekly gain » |
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