NZX50 falls for fourth week as Middle East ceasefire hopes dwindle

Retailers had a busy day.

Friday, March 27th 2026, 6:51PM

by Paul McBeth

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index fell for a fourth week in its longest losing run since February last year, as optimism over US President Donald Trump’s offer to cut a peace deal with Iran dwindled with the Islamic Republic’s reluctance to engage.

Travel software firm Serko was the hardest hit on the NZX50 across the week, with tech stocks feeling the pinch from rising interest rates, while infrastructure investor Infratil bounced back, with a stronger outlook for its CDC data centre arm in the coming year.

The benchmark index snapped a two-day rally to end Friday weaker, with Mainfreight and Freightways giving up Thursday’s gains as Brent crude prices climbed back above US$100 a barrel and German shipping liner Hapag-Lloyd warned trade flow disruptions from the Middle East conflict threatened its bottom line in the coming year.

Meanwhile, retailers were broadly stronger, with KMD Brands extended its trading halt as it tries to wrestle a capital raising over the line, while Hallenstein Glasson Holdings and Warehouse Group rallied on their respective first-half results, buoying Briscoe Group despite a drop in household confidence in the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey.

A long run lower

The NZX50 fell 41.6 points, or 0.3% to 12,935.39 on Friday, taking its weekly decline to 0.4%.

Investors were taken on a rollercoaster ride through the week, with early optimism when US President Trump stayed his threat to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure to pursue peace talks, which waned as the Islamic Republic rebuffed the proposals and pushed back with its own demands. The Polymarket prediction market is pricing in a 41% chance of a ceasefire by the end of April.

Interest rate sensitive companies were among the hardest hit through the week as the yield on New Zealand’s 10-year bond climbed to a year-high before ending the week at 4.77%. Travel software developer Serko posted the steepest decline for the week, falling 12% to end Friday at $1.535, and utilities software firm Gentrack sank 9.4% across the week to close at $6.75, while Goodman Property Trust, Investore Property and Stride Property Group fell between 5.6% and 6.8% through the week.

Infratil was a standout on the week, climbing 8.1% to end Friday at $11.71 after upgrading the 2027 earnings outlook for its CDC data centre investment.
Forsyth Barr analysts raised their target price 15 cents to $14.40 and kept their ‘outperform’ rating on the stock, saying CDC should have enough existing funding to meet its growth ambitions.

“There will come a time when supply matches or exceeds demand, but that does not appear to be soon,” analyst Ben Crozier said in a note to clients.

“CDC has proven its ability to develop (lower capex per megawatt) and operate data centres (higher margins) more efficiently than peers, and its design philosophy means it’s well placed for the liquid cooling transition.”

A subdued end to the week

The NZX snapped a two-day gain on Friday to end the week on a down note, with markets mixed across Asia as investors weighed up the latest extension to Trump’s negotiating deadline. Brent crude oil futures dipped 0.9% to US$100.95 a barrel, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.3% in late trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.6%.

Within the NZX50 on Friday, 34 stocks fell, 14 gained, one was unchanged and KMD Brands extended its trading halt for another day as its efforts to raise fresh capital to repay its mounting debt drag on.

Turnover across the main board was $140.1 million, of which Auckland International Airport accounted for $24.3 million as the country’s major gateway fell 0.9% to $7.97.

Gentrack led the benchmark index lower, falling 5.1% on the day.

Finance minister Nicola Willis and associated energy minister Shane Jones outlined the government’s framework on fuel security today, announcing the criteria that would prompt an increase in alert level and lead to fuel rationing.

Willis said there’s no current need for fuel restrictions, a stance echoed by Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese who said his nation has a secure fuel supply in the near term.

Logistics group Mainfreight gave up some of Thursday’s gains as it dropped 4.4% to $59.01, while courier firm Freightways slipped 2.2% at 43 cents, Channel Infrastructure fell 1.4% to $2.90 and Air New Zealand fell 2.3% to 43 cents.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units fell 4.3%, or 36.1 cents, to $8.05 after shedding rights to an upcoming 40 cents per unit dividend payment.
Precinct Properties NZ was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 4.2 million as it declined 1.5% to $1.02.

The green team

The a2 Milk Co posted the biggest gain on the day, up 3.5% at $11.41, while Serko advanced 3% on Friday and Ebos Group increased 2.7% to $22.60.
Hallenstein Glasson rose 2.1% to $9.85 after the clothing chain lifted first-half profit 32% and fattened its gross margin in the period, while Warehouse Group jumped 6.9% from a record-low to close at 69.5 cents after reporting a 38% lift in first-half operating profit, even as gross margins shrank.

Briscoe Group joined the rally, up 1.1% at $4.65, while Michael Hill International slipped 2% to 50 cents after the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey showed households were growing increasingly nervous as the Middle East conflict rages.

“The conflict in the Middle East has created significant uncertainty for the economic outlook and is hitting people in the back pocket already,” ANZ New Zealand chief economist Sharon Zollner said in a note. “Confidence impacts are likely to exacerbate the impact on growth, but it is entirely reasonable that both firms and households think twice when making spending decisions in case things take a marked turn for the worse.”

Outside the benchmark index, NZME was unchanged at $1.11 after director Jim Grenon bought another 1.8 million shares at $1.115 each, taking his stake in the media group to almost 20%. Chair Steven Joyce also bought 50,000 shares on market at $1.11 a share.

Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.

Tags: Market Close