NZX50 joins global rout; power companies slide on Meridian expansion
Exporters bucked the trend on a weaker kiwi dollar.
Monday, June 8th 2026, 6:11PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index joined a global rout after stronger-than-expected US jobs data on Friday fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve might have to hike interest rates this year, while renewed fighting between Israel and Iran sent oil prices higher.
Vista Group International led the benchmark lower in a broadly soft day for local tech companies, while data centre investor Infratil was among the slew of companies on the red side of the ledger.
The power companies were among the bigger drags on the local board, with Forsyth Barr downgrading its ratings for Mercury NZ, Genesis Energy and Meridian Energy on Meridian’s draft approval to use contingent hydro storage at Lake Pūkaki likely to weigh on electricity prices.
Meanwhile, exporters including a2 Milk Co, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund were among the few gainers on the day as a weaker kiwi dollar softened the hard edges of the day by increasing the value of their foreign income.
Red far and wide
The NZX50 dropped 123.73 points, or 0.9%, to 13,038.24, with 36 stocks declining, 10 gaining and four unchanged. The S&P/NZX 20 index futures contract for June fell 1% to 7,400, with 118 lots traded for a value of $869,000, with the NZX20 down 1% at 7,403.49.
Turnover across the main board was $93.8 million, in a relatively quiet day with Australia’s ASX closed for the long King’s Birthday weekend. Contact Energy accounted for $11.1 million as it dropped 1.3% to $9.48.
New Zealand joined a rout that started last week on Wall Street, when jobs growth in the US revived fears that the Fed might have to raise rates to temper inflation, with artificial intelligence and tech stocks the hardest hit. The yield on New Zealand’s 10-year government bond rose 7 basis points to 4.6% at 5pm in Auckland.
That continued through into Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sinking 4% and South Korea’s Kospi slumping 6%.
A 4.3% increase in Brent crude oil futures to US$97.10 a barrel added to the uneasiness as Israel and Iran traded strikes, keeping fears elevated that the Middle East conflict would linger.
“The AI trade really had the brakes slammed on it big time,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “Interest rates are a key determinant to how equity markets perform – it’s like we’re going back to fundamentals here.”
Cinema analytics firm Vista led the NZX50 lower, falling 4.1% to $2.13, while Serko dropped 2.6% to $1.48 and Gentrack declined 1% to $3.98. Infratil, which charged higher in May on the strength of its CDC data centre investment, slipped 1.2% to $15.23.
Market forces
The power companies were among the biggest headwinds to the bourse, with Meridian falling 2.4% to $5.77, Genesis declining 2.7% to $2.57 and Mercury sliding 2.3% to $6.90 after Forsyth Barr analysts Andrew Harvey-Green and Hugh Lockwood downgraded Mercury to ‘neutral’ and Meridian and Genesis to ‘underperform’ after their strong run since the Middle East conflict broke out.
“The decline in wholesale electricity prices has long been expected, so there is no change to earnings,” Harvey-Green and Lockwood said in a note to clients. “However, we see further downside pressure, with Meridian successfully getting access to contingent hydro storage at Lake Pūkaki.”
Meanwhile, more expensive oil flowed through to transport and logistics firms, with Freightways – a key barometer of the domestic economy – falling 3.4% to $13.20, Auckland International Airport falling 2.5% to $8.12 and Mainfreight sliding 1.9% to $62.
Air New Zealand dipped 2.4% to 41.5 cents after chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar told Reuters over the weekend that fare hikes and hedging offset as much as 40% of the airline’s increased fuel costs, but played down the prospect of raising capital.
Some exporters avoided the selloff as the kiwi dollar dropped to 58.02 US cents at 5pm from 58.68 cents last week, increasing the value of their foreign earnings.
The a2 Milk Co posted the biggest gain on the NZX50, up 3.3% at $6.53, while Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund unit gained 0.4% to $7.10 and F&P Healthcare gained 0.2% to $37.26. Tourism Holdings advanced 0.4% to $2.48.
Spark New Zealand rose for a second session, up 1.6% at $1.90, while Ebos Group – another company whose share price had been languishing – gained 1.9% to $20.50.
Vulcan Steel increased 0.5% to $5.98 after the government launched a probe into whether imported aluminium extrusions were causing serious injury.
Outside the benchmark index, Pacific Edge was the most heavily traded stock with a volume of 2.3 million shares changing hands. The bladder cancer test maker ended the day unchanged at 30 cents.
Steel & Tube Holdings increased 1.4% to 37.5 cents after the steel products maker said it renewed its banking facilities with ANZ for a year, and noted an uncertain outlook for the rest of the calendar year.
Synlait Milk advanced 3.6% to 43 cents after saying the refinancing of a shareholder loan would be on substantially similar terms.
And ArborGen Holdings dropped 8.1% to 7.9 cents after the forestry genetics firm said chief executive Justin Birch resigned after three years in the role. Product development vice president Patrick Cumbie was appointed interim CEO while the board seeks a permanent replacement.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
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