NZX50 dips, dodging worst of Asian slide; KMD falls
Tech companies Gentrack, Vista and Serko were among the hardest hit.
Monday, February 2nd 2026, 6:25PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index nudged lower at the start of the shortened week, avoiding a sharper selloff across Asia as investors caught up with the slump in gold and silver prices after US President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve, causing a rethink on buying precious metals as an inflation hedge.
Local tech stocks Gentrack, Vista Group International and Serko were at the bottom of the local leaderboard, following the soft lead from Wall Street’s Nasdaq on Friday as investors saw Warsh’s appointment as an indication the Fed won’t cut interest rates aggressively.
KMD Brands was among the decliners after the retailer said sales growth was spurred on by discounting in the first five months of the financial year, which had squeezed margins.
Meanwhile, gains by heavyweights Auckland International Airport, Contact Energy and Mercury NZ helped soften the NZX50’s decline, with the defensive stock market outperforming most of Asia.
Not so bad
The NZX50 decreased 10.74 points, or 0.1%, to 13,412.44, with 31 stocks declining, 16 gaining and three unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $96 million, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $15.3 million as it dipped 0.6% to $38.68.
The local bourse fared better than most of Asia, with Australia’s resources-heavy S&P/ASX 200 index down 1.3% in late trading, with mining stocks dragging down the bourse after the slump in gold and silver prices from their months-long rally. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.5%.
Precious metals have been a favoured haven for investors uneasy about the policy programme of the US government. President Donald Trump’s nomination of former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair in May took the steam out of that uncertainty over interest rates, with the nominee’s past record showing him to be more of a hawk on inflation.
The kiwi dollar fell to 60.16 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 60.45 cents last week.
“Our defensive market has outperformed on light volumes in the shortened trading week,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “We’ve been all over the place as Asian markets have pretty much been on a risk-off day.”
Gentrack led the local market lower, sliding 4.5% to $7.29, its lowest level since March 2024, while Vista Group International fell 3.2% to $1.80, its lowest since May 2024, and Serko dipped 2.7% to $2.87.
KMD Brands declined 3.6% to 26.5 cents after the retailer said sales growth of 7.4% in the first five months of the financial year were buoyed by discounting, which squeezed gross margins. And while a softer local currency increased the firm’s net debt, KMD said it doesn’t expect to breach its bankers’ covenants.
Briscoe Group, which owns 6.8% of KMD, fell 1.4% to $4.92.
Powering up
The local market’s decline was offset by gains among the power companies, with Contact Energy up 1.4% at $9.48, Genesis Energy gaining 1.2% to $2.46 and Mercury NZ advancing 1.1% to $6.40.
Auckland International Airport rose for a second day, posting the biggest gain on the NZX50 as it increased 1.6% to $8.39.
Outside the benchmark index, junior mining stocks were broadly weaker as they continued to follow precious metal prices. Gold futures fell 1.4% to US$4,684 an ounce at 5pm in Auckland.
Manuka Resources, which more than doubled through the month of January, dropped 8.7% to 21 cents, while Minerals Exploration fell 5.5% to 26 cents, and New Talisman Gold Mines decreased 5.3%, or 0.1 of a cent, to 1.8 cents.
Santana Minerals bucked the trend, ending the day unchanged at $1.235 after the would-be gold miner said Central Otago District Council endorsed the gold mine near Cromwell, allowing the company access to council roading assets to enable the project if it gets consent.
NZ Rural Land Co fell 1.9% to $1.02 after the rural landlord said its board has adopted a new dividend policy in line with the real estate sector, which was among recommendations by KPMG in a review of the firm’s capital settings.
And Trade Window Holdings fell 3.9% to 25 cents as it launched a $1 million share purchase plan at the same price as part of a wider capital raising from institutional investors in November.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
| « NZX50 slides 0.9% in January as tech stocks falter, a2 Milk sinks |
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