NZX50 climbs for a second week as reweightings drive heavy Friday trading
It was a busy day for M&A among local fund managers.
Friday, June 19th 2026, 6:22PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index rose for a second week in a heavy trading day on Friday as institutional investors tweaked their portfolios to reflect changes in various FTSE and NZX indices, with $103 million of Infratil shares changing hands.
SkyCity Entertainment Group led the benchmark higher on Friday after reaching a smaller settlement with South Australia’s gambling regulator than investors had expected, taking its weekly rally to 25%.
Stock markets across Asia were more muted, with miners weaker on the other side of the Tasman as the prospect of the US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates weighed on commodity prices and as investors mull over whether the US and Iran will reach a durable peace deal.
And it was a busy day for mergers and acquisitions, with more consolidation among fund managers as Devon Funds Management acquired Castle Point Funds and SPH Wealth Holdings agreed to buy Octagon Asset Management and the Summer KiwiSaver scheme.
Weight of money
The NZX50 rose 132.33 points, or 1%, to 13,495.63, with 32 stocks gaining, 16 declining and two unchanged, in heavy trading with $599.7 million of turnover across the main board. That took the benchmark index’s weekly gain to 0.8%.
Reweightings on FTSE and S&P/NZX indices drove the increased traffic, with Infratil accounting for $103 million as it rose 1.8% to $15.07, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare slipped 1.1% to $38.37 on a turnover of $59.7 million. Meridian Energy gained 5.4% to $6.03 with $57.5 million traded, and a2 Milk Co soared 8.2% to $8.11 with $55.3 million of stock traded.
“It’s all a bit of a phoney war while we’re waiting for the closing match,” said Matt Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management ahead of the end of the trading session. “There’s going to be extremely elevated volumes and unpredictable pricing.”
The S&P/NZX 20 index futures contract for June was unchanged at 7,558 with no lots traded in the session. The NZX20 rose 1% to 7,633.67.
SkyCity led the benchmark higher on Friday, jumping 13% to 58 cents, and taking its weekly gain to 25% – the biggest on the NZX50. The casino operator agreed to a A$21 million fine in a settlement with the Commissioner for Liquor and Gambling in South Australia over failings at its Adelaide operation. Some 19.6 million shares changed hands on Friday, the most for the session.
“It certainly was favourable for them relative to market expectations,” Salt’s Goodson said.
Regional ructions
New Zealand’s market was a standout across Asia, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 falling 1.1% in late trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.6%. The Fed’s more hawkish inflation stance weighed on commodity prices, denting mining stocks across the Tasman, while investors continued to weigh up the US-Iran ceasefire with Wall Street closed on Friday for the Juneteenth public holiday.
The kiwi dollar remained muted through the day, falling to 57.29 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 57.95 cents yesterday. Statistics New Zealand figures today showed the annual trade deficit shrank to $3.4 billion in May from $4 billion a year earlier.
Air New Zealand was among the biggest gainers on the NZX50 today, climbing 8% to 47.5 cents, while KMD Brands climbed 6.7% to 8 cents.
NZX posted the biggest decline on the day, falling 3.5% to $1.39.
There was more consolidation among active fund managers today, with Devon agreeing to acquire and manage the Castle Point fund schemes from Perpetual Guardian Group for an undisclosed sum and SPH Wealth - the umbrella for Salt Funds, Pathfinder and Helm Wealth Advisory – said it would buy Forsyth Barr’s Octagon and Summer KiwiSaver. Both deals are expected to be completed in July.
Fletcher Building dropped 2.8% to $3.18 and Spark New Zealand slipped 1.9% to $1.86 after UBS analysts trimmed their target price on the telecommunications provider by 14% to $3.
Outside the benchmark index, 2 Cheap Cars jumped 17% to 70 cents after saying strong trading momentum had continued into the start of the March 2027 financial year, but refrained from providing earnings guidance. Turners Automotive Group rose 3.5% to $8.59.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
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