New Zealand Sharemarket Today: NZX 50 Slides 0.5% as Infratil Sell‑Off Caps Mainfreight Rally (13 November 2025)

New Zealand’s stock market stepped back from recent highs on Thursday, with the S&P/NZX 50 Index falling 0.54% (‑73.86 points) to close at 13,597.87, after touching an intraday high above 13,700. ^[1]

The move came as investors “sold the news” on infrastructure heavyweight Infratil, which tumbled despite delivering a solid half‑year result, while logistics giant Mainfreight and casino operator SkyCity surged on heavy volume. Broader sentiment was shaped by cautious domestic spending data, a weaker day for Australian equities, and improving global risk appetite as the US government shutdown ended. ^[2]

Key takeaways from the New Zealand stock market today

S&P/NZX 50 closed at 13,597.87, down 0.54%, retreating from recent peaks above 13,700. ^[3]
Market breadth was negative on the benchmark, with 30 stocks down, 16 up and 4 unchanged; main‑board turnover was about NZ$157.6m on 37.4m shares traded. ^[4]
Infratil (IFT) slid around 5.5% to $11.97, accounting for a large share of total turnover after announcing asset sales, higher earnings and reaffirmed guidance. ^[5]
Mainfreight (MFT) jumped roughly 8.7% to $68.50, a five‑month high, extending its rally after Wednesday’s upbeat half‑year earnings commentary. ^[6]
SkyCity Entertainment (SKC) gained about 6–6.5% on the largest trading volume of the day (around 3.3m shares), while smaller names WasteCo, EROAD, Asset Plus and KMD Brands featured among the biggest losers. ^[7]
Fresh data showed October electronic card spending up just 0.2% month‑on‑month and about 0.8% year‑on‑year, underscoring still‑cautious consumer demand. ^[8]

NZX 50 pulls back from recent highs

Today’s fall came with the NZX 50 still hovering near multi‑year highs. Data from Investing.com show the index closed 13,671.73 on Wednesday and has recently traded as high as 13,725.62, its 52‑week peak. ^[9]

Even after Thursday’s retreat, mid‑session figures earlier in the day indicated the benchmark remains roughly 6–7% higher over the past six months and year‑on‑year, reflecting a strong 2025 run‑up led by infrastructure, healthcare and selected tech names. ^[10]

Under the surface, though, the tone was clearly risk‑off:

On the NZX 50, declines outnumbered gains 30 to 16, with four stocks flat. ^[11]
Across the broader NZ City market statistics, risers technically outpaced fallers 129 to 112, suggesting smaller caps and non‑index names were somewhat more resilient than the heavyweights. ^[12]
NZX data showed 37.4m shares traded on the main board, with daily value around NZ$157.6m, a solid, but not frenetic, session. ^[13]

In other words, the New Zealand stock market today behaved like a market consolidating after a strong climb: index heavyweights took a breather, while activity in the mid and small‑cap space remained active but patchy.

Infratil result sparks “sell the fact” reaction

The headline story on the New Zealand sharemarket was Infratil.

The infrastructure investor fell about 5.5% to $11.97, dropping to a one‑month low and contributing roughly NZ$26m of the day’s NZ$157.6m turnover — a huge slice for a single stock. ^[14]

That share‑price reaction came despite a result that, on the numbers, looked solid:

Proportionate operational EBITDAF rose about 7% to $514m for the six months to 30 September 2025, helped by its data‑centre business CDC and US renewables platform Longroad Energy. ^[15]
Infratil announced asset sales worth more than NZ$250m, including its 20% stake in mobile‑tower operator Fortysouth and a legacy property from its former NZ Bus division. ^[16]
The company reported a net parent surplus of about NZ$606m, reaffirmed full‑year EBITDAF guidance in a range of NZ$960m–$1,000m, and kept its interim dividend at 7.25 cents per share. ^[17]

Market commentary suggested the selling was less about today’s numbers and more about expectations. Analysts pointed out that Infratil reiterated its ambition to double CDC’s earnings, but did not unveil the scale of new data‑centre contract wins some investors had hoped for. As one fund manager quoted in local media put it, the reaction looked puzzling given the strength of the underlying result — a classic “good numbers, but not good enough” scenario. ^[18]

For the New Zealand stock market, the takeaway is clear: data‑centre and infrastructure names are now priced for perfection. When expectations run ahead of newsflow, even respectable results can trigger sharp corrections.

Mainfreight, SkyCity and a clutch of small caps lead the gainers

Balancing Infratil’s slump, several high‑beta names staged strong rallies.

Mainfreight extends its post‑result surge

Mainfreight (MFT) was the standout winner on the day:

The stock leapt about 8.7% to $68.50, topping NZX’s main‑board gainers list and reaching its highest level since June. ^[19]
Thursday’s move extended a rally kicked off by Wednesday’s half‑year earnings, where management signalled cost cuts, improving freight trends and a more optimistic outlook for the New Zealand and Australian businesses. ^[20]

Interest.co.nz noted that even after this rebound, Mainfreight’s share price is still down over the past year, suggesting investors are repositioning after a difficult 12‑month stretch rather than buying at outright euphoric levels. ^[21]

SkyCity rebounds on heavy volume

Casino and entertainment operator SkyCity (SKC) also had a strong New Zealand stock market today performance:

The stock rose roughly 6.3–6.4%, closing around $0.835, with more than 3.3 million shares traded — the heaviest volume on the market. ^[22]

SkyCity has endured a tough year amid regulatory and earnings pressures, and earlier commentary highlighted that the stock remains sharply lower year‑on‑year despite recent rebounds. ^[23] Today’s move looked like a mix of bargain‑hunting and short‑term trading interest clustered around a liquid, beaten‑up name.

Smaller winners and losers

Data from NZX and NZCity show a busy day in the small‑cap and micro‑cap space: ^[24]

Notable gainers

Metro Performance Glass (MPG) – up about 7.1%
Manuka Resources (MKR) – up around 6.3%
TruScreen Group (TRU) – gaining roughly 5.3%

Notable decliners

WasteCo Group (WCO) – down about 11.8% to 1.5 cents, the session’s biggest percentage faller
EROAD (ERD) – off about 5.8% to $1.63, continuing a volatile run for the transport‑technology firm
Asset Plus (APL) – down roughly 4.6%
KMD Brands (KMD) – sliding about 3.4–3.5% to $0.28, extending pressure on discretionary retail shares

The mix highlights a typical late‑cycle pattern: investors are willing to pay up for companies delivering clear earnings momentum (like Mainfreight), but are ruthless with structurally challenged or capital‑hungry small caps.

Tourism and travel: strong Aussie visitors, soft local stocks

Tourism‑related news flow looked upbeat, but the New Zealand sharemarket didn’t fully reflect it.

According to commentary citing Statistics New Zealand, a soft New Zealand dollar against the Australian dollar has helped make New Zealand more attractive to Australian visitors, and Australians were a key driver of September visitor‑arrival growth. ^[25]

Yet this didn’t translate into a rally for travel and transport names:

Auckland International Airport (AIA) fell about 1.6% to $7.87
Air New Zealand (AIR) declined about 1.6% to $0.615
Tourism Holdings (THL) slipped a similar 1.6% to $2.51 ^[26]

There were bright spots, though. Savor Group, a hospitality operator, climbed around 4.2% to $0.25, and SkyCity’s strong move gave some comfort that visitor‑driven spending is slowly coming back, even if investors remain choosy about which tourism plays they back. ^[27]

Power companies react to Meridian’s “awash with water” update

The utilities and energy corner of the New Zealand stock market today was shaped by hydrology rather than headline earnings.

Meridian Energy released its latest monthly update showing: ^[28]

National hydro storage around 143% of the long‑term average as at 10 November
South Island storage at about 148% of average, after roughly double typical inflows in October

High lake levels tend to pressure wholesale electricity prices, which is good for consumers but can squeeze generator margins. The market reaction reflected that:

Meridian (MEL) fell around 1% to $5.88
Genesis Energy (GNE) edged down about 0.4% to $2.50
Mercury NZ (MCY) gained roughly 1.2% to $6.56
Contact Energy (CEN) rose about 1% to $9.70 ^[29]

The split performance shows investors differentiating between balance sheets and contract structures rather than treating all generators the same.

Retail and consumer: card‑spending data keeps optimism in check

For retail‑exposed stocks, the key macro news was Stats NZ’s Electronic Card Transactions release for October 2025, which showed: ^[30]

Seasonally adjusted retail card spending up 0.2% month‑on‑month, after a 0.5% fall in September
Actual retail card spending about 0.8% higher than a year earlier

Several banks and economic commentators described the result as encouraging but still subdued, noting that most of the improvement came from essential consumables (like groceries and fuel), while discretionary categories such as apparel and durable goods remained weak. ^[31]

On the NZX, that soft‑but‑improving theme looked like this: ^[32]

Hallenstein Glasson (HLG) fell about 1.6% to $10.04
Briscoe Group (BGP) was flat around $5.40
KMD Brands (KMD), already among the day’s bigger decliners, dropped about 3.5% to $0.28
Outside the index, The Warehouse Group (WHS) and Michael Hill International (MHJ) each rose around 1.3%

Overall, the New Zealand stock market today treated the card‑spending data as confirmation that the consumer is alive, but still cautious. Essential‑goods retailers look relatively better positioned than discretionary ones.

Small caps, tech and capital markets: Black Pearl, 2 Cheap Cars, Comvita

A few other corporate stories coloured trading across the New Zealand sharemarket:

Black Pearl Group (BPG) launched a capital raising of up to A$10.2m (about NZ$11.8m) via a placement of roughly 11.8m new shares at A$0.865 (NZ$1.00) each, a discount of about 13% to recent prices. The funds will support product growth, investment in its Pearl Engine data platform and a planned secondary listing on the ASX later this month. Trading in the stock was temporarily halted to facilitate the placement. ^[33]
2 Cheap Cars (2CC) fell about 2.5% to $0.575 after trimming its first‑half dividend and reporting weaker profit and revenue amid a subdued domestic economy. ^[34]
Comvita (CVT) eased about 0.8% to $0.595 as updated voting figures suggested the 80‑cent‑per‑share takeover offer from Florenz is increasingly unlikely to get shareholder approval, with a substantial block of votes already cast against the deal. ^[35]

These stories highlight two ongoing themes in the New Zealand stock market:

Capital is available, but not cheap – growth companies such as Black Pearl can raise funds, but at double‑digit discounts.
Shareholders are more activist and price‑sensitive – as seen in Comvita, investors appear unwilling to accept bids they see as opportunistic or poorly timed.

Smartshares ETFs and sector positioning

Mid‑afternoon data from interest.co.nz’s daily NZX update give a useful snapshot of how local ETFs are tracking: ^[36]

Smartshares NZ Top 50 ETF (FNZ): about ‑0.4% on the day, but still +0.9% over five days and +6.8% over six months
NZ Top 10 ETF (TNZ): roughly ‑0.5% on the day, modestly higher over the week but lagging the broader index over six months
S&P/NZX 50 ETF (NZG): slightly positive intraday, and up around 5% over six months
NZ Dividend ETF (DIV): marginally lower on the day, but boasting double‑digit gains (around 14–17%) year‑to‑date and over twelve months

For investors tracking the New Zealand stock market today, these numbers reinforce the idea that:

High‑dividend names and quality defensives have been strong performers through 2025.
Concentrated mega‑cap exposure (Top 10) is lagging broader NZX 50 coverage, especially on longer horizons.

Global backdrop: Aussie jobs, US shutdown, and what’s next

Today’s New Zealand session unfolded against a busy global macro backdrop:

In Australia, strong labour‑market data pushed back expectations for an imminent Reserve Bank of Australia rate cut, leaving the ASX 200 down around 0.9% in late trade and weighing on dual‑listed banks and trans‑Tasman sentiment. ^[37]
The New Zealand dollar eased to about 86.3 Australian cents and 56.6 US cents by 5pm Auckland time, modestly softer on the day. ^[38]
Globally, risk appetite improved somewhat after the US Congress passed a bill to end a 43‑day government shutdown, restoring federal agency operations and allowing delayed US economic data releases to resume. European and US equity futures ticked higher ahead of the cash open. ^[39]

The global calendar also features New Zealand’s manufacturing PMI, eurozone industrial production and several US Federal Reserve speeches — all data points that could influence risk sentiment and FX markets into tomorrow’s NZX open. ^[40]

What today’s move means for the New Zealand stock market

Stepping back, today’s 0.5% pull‑back on the NZX 50 looks more like a pause than a trend change:

The index remains close to recent highs and is still respectably ahead on six‑month and 12‑month horizons. ^[41]
Heavy selling in Infratil underscores how results‑day expectations have become very demanding, particularly in hot themes like data centres and infrastructure.
Strong gains in Mainfreight, SkyCity and select cyclicals show investors will still pay up for companies that can show credible earnings momentum and operational self‑help.
Macro data — from card spending to tourism flows — suggest the New Zealand economy is healing but fragile, which helps explain why the market continues to reward quality balance sheets and sustainable dividends. ^[42]

For investors and readers following New Zealand sharemarket news for 13 November 2025, the message is simple:

the rally has not broken, but it is becoming more selective and unforgiving.

As always, this coverage is for information only and is not financial advice. Anyone considering investing in New Zealand shares or ETFs should take professional advice and consider their own circumstances and risk tolerance.

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