New Zealand Stocks Poised for Notable Monthly Decline

2026-01-29 23:09 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

The NZX 50 fell 28 points, or 0.2%, to 13,323 on Friday morning trade, marking its third straight retreat and heading for a second consecutive weekly decline.

Weakness followed losses on Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq Thursday, as investors questioned whether heavy AI spending by mega-cap tech firms would deliver returns.

Locally, New Zealand’s business mood slipped to a three-month low in January, with forward indicators softening and inflation expectations edging higher.

In China, New Zealand’s top trading partner, official PMI data is due this weekend, with a private survey to follow next week.

Sector-wise, consumer durables and non-energy minerals weighed on the index, though logistics and retail trade helped limit losses.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels dropped the most (-4.2%), followed by Freightways Group (-1.7%), Ryman Healthcare (-1.4%), and Delegat Group (-1.1%).

Markets are on track for a monthly drop, down around 1.7% so far, reversing December’s modest gain.



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