Sharemarket has best quarter since Dec 24; And in positive territory halfway through this year

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index notched up a small gain so far this year after its best quarter since December 2024 as Infratil surged on the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Exporters such as Skellerup Holdings and the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund were among those at the top of the leaderboard in the year to date, buoyed by a weak currency and a more settled Middle East, while retailer KMD Brands and software firms Gentrack and Serko have all more than halved in the past six months.

The NZX 50 was among the better performers across Asia on Tuesday as fruit exporter Scales Corp and electricity generator-retailer Mercury NZ led the benchmark higher, with weaker metal prices weighing on the resources-heavy ASX while a revival in the AI trade buoyed Japanese and South Korean markets.

Air New Zealand gained after outlining plans to return to profitability, while Auckland International Airport and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dipped in heavy end-of-quarter trading.