After three sessions of gains, the Dow is off to its best start to a year since 2003, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
“We have still got a bit of catching up to do [with the US], and we’re still some way below,” Craigs Investment Partners investment director Mark Lister said.
“On a share price only basis, we are way below our peak, so we’ve got a bit of work to do, but at least we are moving in the same direction so far this year.”
Among the local big-cap stocks, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare did most of the heavy lifting for the market, rising $1.18 or 3.1% to $39.00.
Infratil, after being a key driver of the market earlier in the week, took a back seat with a 12c (1%) fall to $11.61.
“Our market is quite a concentrated these days – more so than the US – so you really do need one of those big heavyweights to rise for the NZX50 to rise, and in the last couple of days it’s been Infratil.”
Among the other big names, Auckland Airport lost 4c to $8.46 while power company Contact Energy dropped 11c to $9.23.
Vulcan Steel rallied 25c or nearly 3% to $8.65 on renewed interest in the Australian steel market after Kerry Stokes-controlled SGH Ltd and its consortium partner Steel Dynamics prepared for a takeover of BlueScope Steel.
SGH and Steel Dynamics said they wanted to break up the Aussie steelmaker, with Steel Dynamics acquiring the North American unit.
By late in the day, BlueScope was trading at A$29.52 ($31.92), not far off SGH’s A$30/share offer price.
“It’s been a reminder across the Australasian steel sector that there is value in some of these businesses,” Lister said.
Mid-cap stock Third Age Health lost 19c or 3.76% to $4.86 while market minnow Move Logistics dropped 2.5c to 31.5c.
Lister said this morning’s 6.3% gain at the Global Dairy Trade auction was taken as a positive as it partly reversed some of last year’s sharp falls.
For the time being, he said, markets appeared to be shrugging off geopolitical concerns such as the capture by the US military of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his appearance in a New York court on drug and firearms charges.
Instead, they were focused on key US labour data due at the end of this week, which may go some way to inform the US Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates, due later this month.
Markets are pricing in at least two rate cuts by the Fed this year.
Meanwhile, in a market roundup, Forsyth Barr noted the S&P/NZX 50 G returned 0.4% in December 2025, and 1.9% in the quarter, bringing the benchmark index’s 12-month return to 3.3%.
“Continuing with the recurring theme of 2025, mid-caps outperformed large-caps by 0.6% over December, and by 1.8% over the quarter, returning +0.8% and +3.1% respectively,” the broker said.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter – your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.