New Zealand Shares Lower to Start the Week

2026-05-03 22:52 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

The NZX 50 dropped 74 points, or 0.6%, to 12,965 in Monday morning trade, halting gains from the previous three sessions, mainly weighed down by consumer staples, utilities, and industrials.

A2 Milk plunged 11.2% following a voluntary recall of A2 Platinum infant formula in the US due to potential cereulide toxin contamination.

The broader index pulled back from its highest level since April 16, reached on Friday, as traders anticipated the release of unemployment data for Q1 2026 later this week, after the jobless rate hit its highest level since Q3 2015 in Q4 2025.

Last week's data also continued to pressure sentiment, with consumer confidence plunging to its lowest level since May 2023 in April, and business sentiment falling into negative territory for the first time since August 2023.

However, a rally on Wall Street on Friday, supported by solid first-quarter earnings reports, capped the decline.

Other early decliners included Port of Tauranga (-0.7%) and Summerset Group (-0.6%).



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