New Zealand Stock Market Weekly Wrap: NZX 50 Drifts Sideways as RBNZ Signals End of Rate Cuts (1

Between Monday 1 December and Friday 5 December 2025, the New Zealand stock market squeezed a lot of action into a very small headline move. The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended the week at 13,483.99, down just 0.04% from the previous Friday’s close of 13,489.15 – essentially flat despite some sharp swings during the week. ^[1]

Beneath that calm surface, investors had to digest:

A new Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) governor, Anna Breman, taking office. ^[2]
The aftermath of a “hawkish” OCR cut to 2.25% just days earlier. ^[3]
Heavy moves in healthcare, property and utilities stocks. ^[4]
A new regulatory wobble as MBIE opened an investigation into Financial Markets Authority chair Craig Stobo, prompting him to step aside. ^[5]

Here’s how the week unfolded – and what it might mean for the New Zealand sharemarket heading into the rest of December.

Weekly Performance: Flat Index, Busy Week

Looking at the S&P/NZX 50’s daily closes tells the real story: ^[6]

Monday 1 Dec: 13,448.49 (▼0.3%)
Tuesday 2 Dec: 13,502.77 (▲0.4%)
Wednesday 3 Dec: 13,582.54 (▲0.6%)
Thursday 4 Dec: 13,515.62 (▼0.5%)
Friday 5 Dec: 13,483.99 (▼0.23%)

From last Friday to this Friday, the index slipped just 5.16 points, a 0.04% decline for the week – exactly the figure highlighted in The Bottom Line’s weekly wrap, which described the local market as having “limped into the weekend”. ^[7]

At the same time, the index remains very close to all‑time highs. TradingEconomics and Google Finance data show the NZX 50 hit a record 13,747.71 in November and now trades within about 2% of that peak, with a 52‑week range of roughly 11,738 to 13,748. ^[8]

In other words:

The New Zealand stock market has moved from “recovery rally” to “near‑record consolidation” – more sideways shuffling than dramatic re‑rating.

Monday: Quiet Start, Stronger Economic Tone

Headline: NZ sharemarket starts December down 0.3% ^[9]

The first trading day of December opened firmly but faded into the close:

Index: 13,448.49 (▼40.66 points, ▼0.3%)
Breadth: 63 gainers vs 81 decliners, $118.8m traded. ^[10]

Yet the underlying tone from local economists and strategists was surprisingly upbeat:

Business confidence had climbed to its highest level in 11 years, supported by better retail sales and stabilising housing indicators. ^[11]
Building permits for new dwellings were up 6.2% in the year to October, reinforcing the sense that the construction downturn has passed its worst. ^[12]
The RBNZ’s November 25bp OCR cut to 2.25% – widely seen as the last of this cycle – continued to support risk sentiment. ^[13]

Craigs Investment Partners’ Mark Lister told GoodReturns that with rate cuts largely behind us and the economy stabilising, December could still deliver a respectable “Santa rally” and a stronger backdrop going into 2026, particularly for reliable dividend payers. ^[14]

On the stock front:

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH) extended its post‑result strength, edging up to $37.43.
Fletcher Building, Freightways and Port of Tauranga all posted gains, pointing to renewed interest in domestically geared cyclicals. ^[15]

Tuesday: Healthcare and Infrastructure Lead a Rebound

Headline: NZ sharemarket up despite crypto concerns ^[16]

Tuesday brought a classic “bad headlines, good market” day. Wall Street had sold off on a sharp bitcoin slump and worries about leverage in crypto markets, yet the NZX 50 managed a 0.4% gain to 13,502.77. ^[17]

Key drivers:

Defensive growth heavyweights did the heavy lifting:
- FPH rose to $38.00,
- Auckland International Airport to $8.09,
- Infratil to $11.75. ^[18]
Market breadth improved: 67 gainers vs 62 decliners on robust turnover of $125.9m. ^[19]

Generate’s Greg Smith characterised the Wall Street move as an “unwinding of crypto”, arguing that money coming out of speculative assets could ultimately rotate back into more traditional equities – a theme that helped underpin local demand for healthcare and infrastructure names. ^[20]

Wednesday: Dairy and Gentailers Lift the Market

Headline: NZ sharemarket lifts late as dairy stocks gain ^[21]

Mid‑week, the NZX 50 added another 0.59% to close at 13,582.54, with 72 gainers and 63 decliners. ^[22]

The interesting part? The strength came despite another weak Global Dairy Trade auction:

Dairy prices fell 4.3% from the previous sale and are now back around levels seen two years ago. ^[23]
Even so, Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units rose to $5.83, and a2 Milk gained to $10.80, as investors looked through the short‑term price dip to a still‑solid earnings backdrop. ^[24]

Rate‑sensitive gentailers also joined the party:

Meridian Energy, Contact Energy and Mercury all advanced as investors continued to nibble at income names that had lagged earlier in the year. ^[25]

Still, Craigs’ Mark Lister noted that the market felt “subdued” after the excitement of the recent OCR cut. A bounce in wholesale interest rates suggested investors were already starting to price the next move from the RBNZ as up, not down, tempering enthusiasm for some high‑yield names. ^[26]

Thursday: Vital Healthcare and Ebos Drag Index Lower

Headline (GoodReturns & The Bottom Line):
Ebos Group sell‑off pushes down NZ sharemarket / Vital Healthcare leads NZX50 lower as retail investors fill up ^[27]

Thursday marked the bumpiest day of the week. The NZX 50 fell 0.49% to 13,515.62, with selling concentrated in healthcare and property. ^[28]

Stand‑out moves included:

Vital Healthcare Property Trust slumping 4.6% to $1.89 after accepting extra subscriptions in an oversubscribed unit purchase plan, lifting the size of its capital raising. ^[29]
Ebos Group sliding about 1.6% to $28.05 on a single extremely large crossing of 1.5 million shares – a block trade that spooked the rest of the market. ^[30]
Index heavyweights FPH, Meridian Energy and Infratil also finished in the red, magnifying the index‑level decline. ^[31]

There was still good news beneath the surface:

Fonterra reported a 5.7% lift in first‑quarter profit and flagged a planned $2 per security capital return from the sale of its Mainland consumer business, with units edging higher. ^[32]
Stats NZ data showed a 1.5% rise in construction work put in place in the September quarter, with stronger‑than‑expected residential activity – a positive read‑through for Fletcher Building, which rose around 2% on the day. ^[33]

The Bottom Line described New Zealand’s market as “one of the laggards across Asia” that day, with regional peers in Australia and Japan mostly higher – a sign that Thursday’s weakness was more stock‑specific than macro‑driven. ^[34]

Friday: FPH Hit by New Sleep Apnoea Threat, Index Slips into Weekly Red

Headline: Fisher and Paykel Healthcare drives NZ stocks to weaker finish ^[35]

Friday’s session nudged the NZX 50 0.23% lower to 13,483.99, enough to leave the whole week marginally in the red. ^[36]

The key story was again Fisher & Paykel Healthcare:

FPH fell 26c to $37.94, after news that the US Food and Drug Administration had granted “fast track” status to a potential pill‑based treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea – directly overlapping with one of FPH’s core respiratory markets. ^[37]
Salt Funds’ Matt Goodson cautioned that any tablet solution is still very early‑stage, but acknowledged that, if successful, it would be “highly disruptive” to that segment. ^[38]

Balancing that:

Fletcher Building jumped to $3.64, making it the best‑performing NZX 50 stock for the week (up about 8.7%), as investors welcomed the removal of US private placement notes from its balance sheet and better‑than‑expected construction and consenting data. ^[39]
Overall breadth was mixed, with 66 gainers and 74 decliners, and turnover robust at $155m. ^[40]

The Bottom Line’s weekly piece put numbers around the move: the NZX 50 fell 31.63 points on Friday, closing the week 0.04% lower – a classic case of a market losing altitude without actually going anywhere. ^[41]

Central Bank Backdrop: New Governor, “Hawkish Cut” and Rising Yields

The most important macro story for New Zealand equities right now is still monetary policy.

OCR at 2.25% – and likely on hold
- In late November, the RBNZ cut the Official Cash Rate by 25bp to 2.25%, its lowest level in three years, but messaging around the decision clearly signalled that the easing cycle is effectively over. ^[42]
- A MarketNews and OFX wrap described the move as a “hawkish cut” – easing policy now while projecting only a small chance of further cuts in 2026. ^[43]
New RBNZ governor Anna Breman takes over
- On 1 December, Swedish economist Dr Anna Breman formally began her five‑year term as RBNZ governor. ^[44]
- In her first appearance before a parliamentary committee, she stressed that keeping inflation low and stable remains the Bank’s top priority, especially because high inflation hurts low‑income households most, and pledged to improve transparency around monetary policy decisions. ^[45]
- A separate Reuters profile noted that she inherits a central bank that has gone through budget cuts, leadership turmoil and public criticism, and that markets should expect some short‑term volatility as investors adjust to her style. ^[46]
Market impact: rates “done falling”, yields nudging higher
- Across the week, local strategists repeatedly pointed to a rebound in wholesale rates and swaps, as bond markets moved to price a more neutral (and eventually higher) policy stance. ^[47]
- That shift helps explain why some yield plays – particularly listed property and utilities – struggled even as confidence in the real economy improved. ^[48]

From an equity investor’s point of view, the message is simple:

Ultra‑easy money is off the table,
But the RBNZ is not in any rush to tighten policy aggressively,
And a slowly improving domestic economy gives companies more room to grow earnings into 2026. ^[49]

Regulation and Governance: MBIE Probe Hits the FMA

Regulatory noise also crept onto investors’ radar late in the week.

On Friday, after the market closed, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) confirmed it had launched an investigation into Financial Markets Authority chair Craig Stobo, who agreed to step aside temporarily from the FMA and his other Crown roles while the probe proceeds. ^[50]

At this stage, no details have been released and there is no evidence of market misconduct or systemic risk, but:

The FMA is a key regulator for listed companies,
Any extended uncertainty around its leadership could weigh on sentiment in the financials and governance‑sensitive parts of the market.

For now, markets have taken the news in stride, but institutional investors will be watching closely for updates from MBIE and the government. ^[51]

Key Sector and Stock Themes

1. Healthcare: From Market Darling to Mixed Picture

FPH remains the NZX 50’s single largest constituent (around a 16% index weight), so its moves tend to dominate the benchmark. ^[52]
Early in the week, the stock traded well on the back of a strong half‑year result. ^[53]
Friday’s news of a potential tablet treatment for sleep apnoea in the US triggered profit‑taking, but analysts emphasised that the drug is in early stages and any competitive threat is years away. ^[54]

Meanwhile, Ebos and Vital Healthcare showed how sensitive healthcare‑adjacent names are to large block trades and capital raisings, reinforcing the idea that liquidity and balance sheet structure matter as much as headline earnings in this sector. ^[55]

2. Property and Infrastructure: Rate‑Sensitive But Still in Demand

Listed property names such as Vital Healthcare, Kiwi Property Group, Investore and Stride traded heavily as investors reassessed rate expectations after the RBNZ’s cut and hawkish guidance. ^[56]
Despite Thursday’s sell‑off, the bigger picture remains that every 25bp move in funding costs matters for REIT valuations, and the debate has shifted from “how much lower can yields go?” to “how long will they stay near these levels?” TechStock²+2Market News+2

Infrastructure‑style names – Auckland Airport, Infratil, Meridian, Contact, Mercury – spent most of the week alternating between safe‑haven demand and modest profit‑taking, as global bond yields edged higher and investors juggled income with interest‑rate risk. ^[57]

3. Cyclicals and Construction: Fletcher Building in Focus

Fletcher Building emerged as the week’s surprise outperformer, rallying nearly 9% after simplifying its funding structure and benefiting from stronger‑than‑expected building and construction statistics. ^[58]
The message from analysts is that while FBU still faces company‑specific challenges, a more supportive macro backdrop in 2026 – particularly if construction activity and consents continue to improve – could finally give the stock some breathing room. ^[59]

Outlook: Sideways Grind with a Chance of “Santa Rally”

Putting it all together, what does last week tell us about the New Zealand stock market outlook for the rest of December and into 2026?

1. Valuations Are Full, But Not Extreme

With the NZX 50 sitting just a couple of percent below its record high of 13,747.71, the easy gains from the post‑pandemic recovery appear to be behind us. ^[60]
TradingView and Google Finance data both show the index comfortably above its 52‑week low, reinforcing the idea that we are in a late‑cycle upswing, not a distressed market. ^[61]

2. Macro Backdrop: Gradual Recovery, No Emergency Easing

RBNZ policy is now closer to neutral, with markets and commentators – including The Bottom Line’s Paul McBeth – broadly agreeing that the central bank is “done cutting rates” absent a fresh downturn. ^[62]
Business and consumer confidence indicators have improved, building and construction numbers are stabilising, and dairy remains profitable for key exporters despite softer auction prices. ^[63]

That combination tends to support a moderately positive earnings outlook without justifying runaway multiple expansion.

3. Risks to Watch

Investors will want to keep an eye on:

Global yields and central banks: The Fed is still widely expected to cut rates in the coming months, while markets also price potential hikes from the Bank of Japan – both of which can shift global risk appetite quickly. ^[64]
Regulatory headlines: Any escalation in the MBIE investigation into the FMA chair could rekindle governance concerns, even if the underlying financial system remains sound. ^[65]
Stock‑specific shocks: As FPH’s week showed, company‑level news – from clinical trial milestones abroad to block trades and capital raisings at home – can move the benchmark more than macro data on any given day. ^[66]

4. Base Case: Range‑Bound with Select Opportunities

Most of the commentary published between 1 and 6 December points to a range‑bound NZX 50 over the short term:

Not cheap enough to be a screaming buy,
Not expensive enough to trigger a wholesale sell‑off,
With stock selection (particularly in healthcare, property, construction and export‑linked names) likely to matter more than broad index calls. ^[67]

For now, the New Zealand sharemarket looks like it’s catching its breath near record highs – waiting to see whether the combination of a new central bank governor, a stabilising domestic economy and a still‑fragile global backdrop will deliver a proper “Santa rally” or just more sideways churn into the New Year.

References

New Zealand Stock Market Weekly Wrap: NZX 50 Drifts Sideways as RBNZ Signals End of Rate Cuts (1–6 December 2025)