NZX50 falls 1.6% this week as sour sentiment saps F&P Healthcare
Pacific Edge surged near a three-year high on its provisional return to Medicare cover.
Friday, May 15th 2026, 6:08PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index snapped two weeks of gains as heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare had its worst week since February as Australian investor sentiment cooled on health stocks.
The local benchmark fell on Friday in a broadly weaker day across Asia as investors kept tabs on the summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, with hopes cooling for increased chip sales to China.
Fletcher Building posted the biggest gain on the day after the building materials firm sold a property in South Australia as it continued to streamline its business, while Gentrack was only local tech company to follow a strong lead from the US, along with Australian-listed software firms Xero and WiseTech Global.
And bladder cancer test maker Pacific Edge neared a three-year high after its triage and triage plus products were provisionally included in the US Medicare coverage database, reviving the firm’s ambitions to grow in the world’s biggest economy.
Cold Friday
The NZX50 declined 60.06 points, or 0.5%, to 12,965.01, with 19 stocks falling, 27 gaining and four unchanged.
That took the weekly fall to 1.6%, snapping two weeks of gains, with F&P Healthcare sliding 7.5% across the week to close Friday at $32.85. Ebos Group dropped 2.2% in the week to close Friday at $20.93, having touched its lowest level since March 2020.
Healthcare stocks on both sides of the Tasman have been under pressure over the past week after ASX-listed Cochlear and CSL downgraded their respective earnings outlooks, with that negative sentiment spreading to the likes of F&P Healthcare and Ebos.
SkyCity Entertainment Group was the weakest stock on the top 50 index, falling 9.4% across the week to close at 58 cents, while Summerset Group Holdings dropped 9.2% to $7.19.
New Zealand’s benchmark index joined a broadly softer day across Asia on Friday as investors kept watch on the US-China presidential summit, brushing off a strong lead from New York. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.2% in late trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.2%.
“US futures are softer heading into the weekend with Trump in China and people waiting for any further developments with respect to what’s happening in the Middle East,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.
Brent crude oil futures rose 1.3% to US$107.04 a barrel at 5pm in Auckland.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 20 index fell 0.4% to 7,376.31 on Friday, with the NZX20 futures contract for June down 0.7% at 7,380, with 570 lots traded for a value of $4.2 million.
Turnover across the main board was $150.4 million, of which F&P Healthcare accounted for $21.9 million.
Out of favour
Travel software firm Serko led the NZX50 lower on Friday, sliding 4.6% to $1.45, while F&P Healthcare fell 3.8% on the day and Summerset declined 2.8%.
Sanford fell 2% to $7.99, a day after reporting a record first-half underlying earnings and declaring a dividend against expectations, while Port of Tauranga slipped 1.7% to $8.28.
Meridian Energy slipped 1% to $5.85 after its monthly operating update showed national hydro storage at 119% of the historical average. Craigs’ McIntyre said the power company’s earnings were tracking slightly ahead of expectations, with two traditionally wet months left in the financial year.
Fletcher Building posted the biggest gain on the day, up 4.8% at $3.03 after selling a South Australian property for A$20.1 million, about A$10 million above book value.
“The market is becoming more attuned to the fact they’re consolidating and selling assets that are non-performing or don’t align to the current business model,” McIntyre said.
Gentrack climbed 4.6% to $4.10, one of the few local tech companies to follow Wall Street higher. Vista Group International was unchanged at $2.07.
Across the Tasman, Xero jumped 9.2% to A$80.44 in late trading, as it bounced from a sharp selloff on Thursday as investors remained cool on its strategy to grow its US market.
Back in New Zealand, Pacific Edge surged outside the index, climbing 54% to 27 cents after receiving a draft inclusion back in Medicare coverage. The biotech company was the most heavily traded stock on the exchange, with 11 million shares changing hands.
Craigs' McIntyre said that was earlier than the September timing investors had predicted.
Meanwhile, Warehouse Group tested all-time lows as it ended the day down 1.6% at 61.5 cents after reporting a 1.4% decline in quarterly sales, pointing to rising fuel prices.
The kiwi dollar dropped to 58.72 US cents at 5pm from 59.32 cents yesterday after Statistics New Zealand figures showed a smaller increase in selected prices last month than economists had anticipated, while the BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index showed activity eked out a marginal expansion in April.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
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