NZX50 sinks as Iran strikes on Qatar chill Asian markets
NZ’s economy grew at a slower pace than anticipated in the December quarter.
Thursday, March 19th 2026, 7:45PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index joined the global slump after Iran’s attack on Qatar pushed oil prices higher and chilled investors, with the fog of war clouding the outlooks for the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan as they kept their respective key rates on hold.
New Zealand’s Reserve Bank won’t review policy until next month, although governor Anna Breman will deliver a speech on monetary policy next week, where she’ll have to factor in a slower economy than expected after Statistics NZ’s gross domestic product figures fell short of forecasts.
Blue-chip stocks were the biggest drag on the NZX50 as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Auckland International Airport and Meridian Energy all declined, while Spark New Zealand posted the steepest decline as the telco also shed rights to an upcoming dividend.
Meanwhile, Turners Automotive Group was among the few highlights on the local bourse as the used car dealer and financier raised its earnings outlook ahead of an investor day next week.
Murky outlooks
The NZX50 dropped 263.99 points, or 2%, to 13,051.61, with 39 stocks declining, eight gaining and three unchanged.
Turnover across the main board was $144.7 million, of which Auckland Airport accounted for $25.2 million as the country’s major gateway fell 3.4% to $8.13.
Stock markets across Asia followed the soft lead from Wall Street as escalating attacks on energy infrastructure throughout the Middle East by Israel and Iran pushed Brent crude oil futures up 4.3% to US$112.02 a barrel at 5pm in Auckland.
“It’s all a reaction to Israel’s attack on an Iranian gas field and Iran’s attack on Qatar, and fears of this whole thing spiralling out of control,” said Matt Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.7% in late trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 2.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.7%.
The Bank of Japan followed the Fed’s lead in keeping its key rate unchanged, with both central banks pointing to the uncertainty over the heightening conflict in the Middle East as clouding their outlooks.
The kiwi dollar fell to 58.18 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.60 cents yesterday and declined to 92.89 yen from 93.12 yen.
RBNZ governor Breman will deliver a speech touching on the current economic outlook, which got a little grimmer today when Stats NZ’s December quarter GDP figures showed growth of 0.2% in the three-month period, less than the 0.5% expansion predicted by the central bank.
“That will probably mean the Reserve Bank will remain on hold for a bit longer,” Salt’s Goodson said, while noting the latest bout of nerves pushed bond yields higher today, with the yield on New Zealand’s 10-year government bond up 8 basis points at 4.69%.
Bluest of blue chips
On the local bourse, blue-chip stocks weighed most heavily on the index as F&P Healthcare fell 3.8% to $37.23 and Meridian dropped 2.8% to $5.47.
Spark posted the sharpest fall, dropped 5.3%, or 12 cents, to $2.16 after shedding rights to an upcoming 8 cents per share dividend. The a2 Milk Co also went ex-dividend, falling 3.7%, or 43 cents, to $11.32 ahead of its 11.5 cents per share return, while Briscoe Group declined 1.7%, or 8 cents, to $4.65 in the lead-up to its 10-cent dividend.
KMD Brands hit a new low of 19.1 cents, ending the day down 4.4% at 19.6 cents, while tech companies were broadly weaker as Gentrack tumbled 5.1% to $7.12, Serko fell 4% to $1.785 and Vista Group International declined 0.3% to $1.755.
Air New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 3.2 million shares, slipping 1.1% to 43.5 cents.
Turners Auto topped the NZX50 on the day, climbed 4% to $8.63 after raising earnings guidance by about 5% ahead of its investor day next week.
Salt’s Goodson said investors will want to see how large Turners wants to grow its loan book, and expand their car-yards around the country.
Channel Infrastructure rose 1.7% to $2.99 after prime minister Christopher Luxon said the government is working on an eight-to-12-week response plan to the energy shocks, with a risk that Asian refineries will face supply constraints.
Outside the benchmark, Rakon slipped 0.3% to $1.49 after the company said it expects to report earnings in the lower half of its guidance range. Suitor Bourns, which is offering $1.55 a share, has secured 72% acceptances Overseas Investment Office approval and French regulatory signoff.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
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