Tech stocks back in favour as NZX50 joins rally on ebbing Iran fears
Taiko Critical Minerals doubled on its NZX debut.
Thursday, March 5th 2026, 7:00PM
by Paul McBeth
Tech stocks including Gentrack and Vista Group International were at the top of the leaderboard as the S&P/NZX 50 index joined a global rally amid easing concerns of a protracted conflict in the Middle East.
The improvement in investor sentiment boded well for newly-listed Taiko Critical Minerals, which doubled on its NZX debut ahead of a planned capital raising later this year.
Building products firms including Fletcher Building, Vulcan Steel and Steel & Tube Holdings rallied even as Statistics New Zealand figures showed construction activity was soft in the final three months of 2025.
And among the eight companies shedding rights to their dividends today, media group NZME was the only one to fall by more than its cash return, with Meridian Energy, Port of Tauranga and Precinct Properties NZ gaining despite the capital adjustment.
Back once again
The NZX50 rose 86.77 points, or 0.6%, to 13,617.89, with 37 stocks gaining, 11 declining and two unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $121.6 million, of which Auckland International Airport accounted for $17.8 million as it fell 1.6% to $8.80.
The local bourse joined a global rally as investors cooled their nervousness about the conflict in Iran amid reports – later denied – that Iran was open to negotiating an end to the military strikes and with the US supporting ways to get oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3% in late trading while Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8%. The kiwi dollar held on to its gains through the day, trading at 59.27 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 59.05 cents yesterday.
“It’s a fairly light day but was a bit better as war concerns ebbed a little,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “All the focus is what’s happening in Iran and how long it potentially drags on for.”
Tech companies regained some of their lustre, with Amazon and Nvidia among Wall Street’s leaders overnight and WiseTech Global and Xero rallying in Australia.
Local utilities software firm Gentrack posted the biggest gain on the NZX50, up 4.2% at $7.95, while Vista advanced 3.3% to $3.48 and Serko increased 1.5% to $1.85.
Data centre investor Infratil climbed 1.3% to $10.89, while blue-chip names were mixed as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 0.9% to $40.74 and Mercury NZ decreased 0.8% to $6.39. Contact
Energy advanced 1.6% to $9.45, Spark New Zealand increased 0.9% to $2.29 with the day’s biggest volume of 3.5 million shares, and a2 Milk Co climbed 3.6% to $11.84.
Building products firms were broadly stronger after Stats NZ’s December quarter figures for the value of building work put in place showed a 3.1% decline in construction volumes in the period. Fletcher rose 2.3% to $3.51 and Vulcan Steel advanced 2.1% to $7.87, while Steel & Tube increased 2% to 51.5 cents.
We built this city
Satish Ranchhod, a senior economist at Westpac NZ, said the decline in activity was bigger than he expected, with residential work giving back a similar sized lift in the prior period, while commercial construction was notably soft.
“We expect home building will track sideways in the early part of 2026,” Ranchhod said in a note. “But with new dwelling consents having now risen to a two-year high, we should see a recovery in residential construction taking shape in the latter part of the year.”
A slew of companies shedding rights to their recently announced dividends didn’t weigh on the market, despite some big names including Meridian, Ebos Group and Precinct Properties.
Meridian rose 0.7%, or 4 cents, to $5.67 after shedding rights to a 6.4 cent dividend, while Ebos declined 2.2%, or 53 cents, to 23.14 after giving up rights to a 57 cent dividend, while Precinct increased 2.3%, or 2.5 cents, giving up rights to a 1.69 cent dividend.
Port of Tauranga climbed 1.9%, or 15 cents, to $8.24 losing its 8 cent dividend, Freightways was unchanged at $14 having gone ex-dividend on a 21 cent payment and Skellerup Holdings slipped 0.2%, or 1 cent, to $5.64 giving up a 10 cent dividend.
NZME was the only company going ex-dividend to fall by more than the return, slipped 5.4%, or 6.5 cents, to $1.14 as it gave up a 6 cent dividend.
NZX advanced 0.7% to $1.42 after a strong showing for its second listing of the year, with Taiko Critical Minerals doubling on a volume of 1.8 million shares to 22 cents from its reference price in a direct listing on the local exchange.
Craigs’ McIntyre said investors would now start looking for news on the company’s operations and market that it operates in.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
| « NZX50 dodges worst of market ructions over Iran conflict fears |
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