Briscoe led the benchmark higher on summer sales growth.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index nudged its way back into positive territory with a late rally, joining gains across Asia as investors regained their appetite for tech stocks, with Sharesies-favourite Palantir Technologies delivering another record quarter after Wall Street closed and as Elon Musk confirmed plans to merge his SpaceX and xAI businesses ahead of a mooted initial public offering later this year.
The shine came off Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index in late trading after the Reserve Bank of Australia pressed ahead with a rate hike, pointing to material increases in consumer prices through the latter half of last year, which also pushed the kiwi dollar below 86 Australian cents.
Exporters Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and A2 Milk Co did the heavy lifting for the NZX50, while Briscoe Group led the benchmark higher after the retailer reported strong fourth-quarter sales, with its Rebel Sport chain driving sales through the important summer period.
And retirement village operators were weaker after Statistics New Zealand’s latest building consents figures showed a moderation in new permits, while Ryman Healthcare unveiled a new strategy to boost its cashflow and resume dividend payments in the coming years.
The NZX50 increased 9.08 points, or 0.1%, to 13,421.52, with 16 stocks gaining, 27 declining and seven unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $161.9 million, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $31.4 million as it rose 2.8% to $39.75.
The NZX50 had been softening into the central bank’s announcement, having started the day on the green side of the ledger after an upbeat lead from Wall Street. Stock markets across Asia were broadly stronger, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.7% in late trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 3.7% and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5.2%.
Tech stocks drove the rally across Asia ahead of earnings from Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon later this week, while Palantir Technologies posted another quarterly record revenue after Wall Street closed.
ASX-listed Xero was up 2.1% after the New Zealand-based firm reaffirmed its expectation for the Melio acquisition to accelerate growth, while WiseTech Global gained 1.2%.
The ASX200 pared its gain, and the kiwi dollar fell to 85.91 Australian cents at 5pm in Auckland from 86.36 cents at 7am and 86.70 cents yesterday after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the target cash rate quarter point to 3.85% as widely tipped, with the board saying inflation accelerated markedly in the second half of last year.
The kiwi dollar traded to 60.37 US cents from 60.16 cents yesterday, joining the Aussie’s rally against the greenback.
“It was a bit on the hawkish side, but in line with market pricing,” said Greg Smith, investment specialist at Generate Investment Management. “It seems like we’ll see more hikes this year with inflation running hot.”
The dual-listed Australian banks were among the day’s gainers, with Westpac Banking Corp up 1.8% at $45.65 on the NZX and ANZ Group Holdings advancing 0.6% to $42.71. Heartland Group Holdings climbed 2.5% to $1.24.
Exporters F&P Healthcare and A2 Milk – which rose 2.4% to $10.12 – buoyed the NZX50, while Briscoe Group led the benchmark higher as it rose 3.3% to $5.05 after the retailer said fourth-quarter sales rose 4.6%, led by growth from the Rebel Sport chain, and reaffirmed guidance for annual profit to fall as much as 13%.
Fletcher Building was unchanged at $3.72 after Statistics New Zealand figures showed annual building consents rose 9% in calendar 2025, slowing in December on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said the latest data were in line with expectations, reaffirming his house view that consents will moderate this year.
“Although recent months have seen stronger consent totals overall, consents fell on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, and some of the underlying pick-up in consent momentum has now started to move sideways,” Olsen said in a note.
Retirement village operators were broadly weaker as Summerset Group Holdings fell 1.8% to $11.49 and Ryman Healthcare declined 0.7% to $2.77. Ryman held an investor day today, telling analysts it’s targeting a $150 million lift in cashflow by the 2029 financial year, and expects to return to paying sustainable dividends the year before that.
Generate’s Smith said Ryman’s new strategy required a leap of faith from investors that the company will deliver on its plans in the coming years, and the government will come to the party in lifting funding for care work.
“There’s a healthy dose of optimism throughout,” he said.
Oceania Healthcare increased 1.2% to 85.5 cents, while outside the benchmark Radius Residential Care rose 1.3% to 39.5 cents.
NZX posted the biggest decline on the NZX50, with the stock market operator down 3.1% at a four-month low $1.42.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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