NZX 50 rallies as SkyCity hits three-month high on hotel sale
Forsyth Barr pares gentailer price targets on softer futures.
Wednesday, July 22nd 2026, 7:04PM
by Paul McBeth
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index joined a rally across Asia, with tech stocks again in hot demand ahead of results from US majors Alphabet and Intel and buoying the likes of local data centre investor Infratil.
SkyCity Entertainment Group led the benchmark index higher as the casino operator hit a three-month high after agreeing to sell its Grand Hotel in Auckland for an undisclosed sum.
Contact Energy was one of the biggest drags on the day after Forsyth Barr analysts trimmed their target price on the power company on the pullback in ASX futures prices, while Mercury NZ advanced on its strong June quarter performance.
And New Zealand Rural Land Co declined after the receivers for Kiwi Crunch Farms told the rural landlord that they’d abandoned their leases.
High rollers
The NZX 50 rose 107.15 points, or 0.8%, to 13,763.18, with 29 stocks gaining, 16 falling and five unchanged. The S&P/NZX 20 index futures contract for September advanced 0.1% to 7,686, with 26 lots traded for a value of almost $200,000, while the NZX 20 increased 0.8% to 7,781.63.
Turnover across the main board was $128.2 million, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $17.6 million as it rose 1.8% to $39.82.
Stock markets across Asia were broadly stronger as a rally on Wall Street spurred gains for tech companies, with South Korea’s Kospi jumping 4% in late trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7%. Infratil was among local gainers, rising 1.5% to $15.70.
Meanwhile, building product companies Fletcher Building and Vulcan Steel joined a trans-Tasman rally in materials firms, rising 2.4% to $3.83 and 3.3% to $6.33 respectively.
SkyCity posted the biggest gain on the NZX 50, surging 13% to 66 cents and hitting its highest level since April 23. The casino operator said it agreed to sell its Grand Hotel in Auckland to an unnamed buyer for an undisclosed sum, subject to due diligence and Overseas Investment Office approval. SkyCity was the most heavily traded stock on the day, with a volume of 4.2 million shares changing hands.
Separately, AustralianSuper emerged as the big seller of SkyCity this month, reducing its stake to 4.9% from 7%.
KMD Brands rose 1.5% to $1.69 after the retailer said it expected to report a 5% lift in annual sales, with growth at its Kathmandu outdoor equipment chain more than offsetting declines at the Rip Curl surfwear stores. The company said it decided to sell its Southeast Asian factory, which was predicted to fetch up to $7 million in net proceeds, and improve working capital by about $6 million.
Retailers were broadly stronger after Reserve Bank figures showed credit card billings in New Zealand slowed last month, with end-of-month balances nudging lower.
Briscoe Group rose 0.8% to $4.85 and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings increased 0.8% to $10.30.
Power play
Mercury gained 1.3% to $6.79 after the power company reported a 33% lift in its June quarter trading margin to $390 million, with a 17% lift in generation from a year earlier.
Meridian Energy increased 0.7% to $5.67 after Forsyth Barr analysts raised their rating on the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘underperform’ on the recent softness in its share price, while trimming their target price by 5 cents to $6.10.
Contact fell 1.6% to $9.10 as Forsyth Barr analysts Andrew Harvey-Green and Hugh Lockwood similarly trimmed 10 cents from their target price on the gentailer to $10.90, while retaining their ‘outperform’ rating on the company.
“Looking ahead, we have trimmed our medium-term forecasts and target price in light of the decline in ASX futures prices,” Harvey-Green and Lockwood said in a note to clients. “Contact remains our preferred sector exposure with its attractive development pipeline and strong recent track record.”
Gentrack posted the steepest decline on the NZX 50, falling 2.4% to $3.66, while Investore Property declined 1.8% to $1.07 and Stride Property slipped 1.7% to $1.19.
Outside the benchmark index, NZ Rural Land Co fell 2.7% to 91.5 cents after saying the receiver of the Kiwi Crunch orchards said the tenant stopped using the leases, which generate annual rent of $1.4 million for the limited partnership three-quarters owned by NZ Rural Land Co. The rural landlord is negotiating a lease or sale of the affected properties.
Move Logistics was unchanged at 17.6 cents after appointing Graham Stuart to the board as an independent director, who will chair the audit and risk committee.
And Bremworth fell 2% to 72 cents after David Ferrier’s interests increased their stake in the carpetmaker to 19.7%.
The kiwi dollar remained subdued in the local session, trading at 58.27 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.64 cents yesterday. Brent crude oil futures were up 1.4% at US$92.30.
Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.
| « NZX 50 falls as accelerating inflation keeps focus on oil prices |
Special Offers
Comments from our readers
No comments yet
Sign In to add your comment
|
|
Printable version |
|
Email to a friend |
