Daily Dispatch: Markets fall into negative territory

Friday, 20 February 2026

Investors weighed earnings from major companies, Walmart, Airbus, Renault and Nestle, and appeared spooked by US-Iran tensions.

Market Summary

US markets fell on Thursday, as investors monitored simmering tensions between the US and Iran continued a rally in oil.

The Dow Jones declined 0.5% in its latest trading session, meanwhile the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.3%.

European markets followed Wall Street in their latest session, mostly ending trading for the day in the red, as investors weighed earnings from a handful of major companies, including Airbus, Renault and Nestle.

The Stoxx 600 finished the session 0.6% lower, with most major bourses in the region ending the day in negative territory.

In Asia, markets were mixed. Some markets were closed for public holidays. However, stand out gains in the region, included Japan’s Nikkei up 0.68% on Thursday, and South Korea’s Kospi, up 2.47%.

The S&P/NZX50 had another positive day Thursday, up 1.49%, possibly as yesterday’s “steady as she goes” message from the Reserve Bank continued to keep sentiment upbeat.

Results season continued - Auckland Airport saw a drop in profit in its first but a better second half, sending shares up 1.87%. SkyCity saw costs up and profit down, which was expected, but caused its shares to drop 3.45%. Fonterra shareholder-farmers unsurprisingly voted in favour of their $3.2 billion capital return from the sale of its Mainland Group brands business to France’s Lactalis.

Specialist health landlord Vital Healthcare Property Trust also reported a half year result. In the period it had internalised its management and completed a capital raise. Net property income had gained almost 5% and occupancy was at 99%. Scales Corporation upgraded its guidance to an underlying net profit of between $61m-$62m, up from $54m-$59m.

Scales shares gained 3.39%.

On the main board, WasteCo stocks continued to be bought and sold at pace, with shares gaining 9.09%. Blis Technologies gained 5.88%, Santana Minerals rose 5.45% and Fletcher Building shares were still gaining on this week’s more promising half year result at the company, up 3.42%.

Decliners included New Talisman Gold Mines, down 10.53% after it signalled to shareholders it would be undertaking another capital raise to implement a “broadened strategic plan”. Millennium and Copthorne Hotels fell 5.14%, New Zealand King Salmon lost 4.76%, Green Cross Health was down 4.65% and Bremworth dropped 4.35%.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, pictured in 2005.

The S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.88% on Thursday, led up by investment advice company Hub24, which rose 14.16% after a bumper first half profit. Sonic Healthcare also saw a profit gain, of 11%, which saw its shares rise 9.89%.

While we slept

King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct while in public office, in connection to the Jeffrey Epstein files. The arrest happened on the morning of his 66th birthday. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing but the public outcry over his association with the disgraced financier and sex offender has had far-reaching consequences. King Charles issued a statement shortly after, saying: “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office … what now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.”

Consultancy giant Accenture has told senior staff they must regularly use AI tools in order to be considered for promotions for leadership roles. The company is said to be going “all-out on AI” and its AI strategy “requires the adoption of the latest tools and technologies to serve our clients most effectively”. An Accenture spokesperson said it expected to “retrain and retool” at scale, and 550,000 workers had already been reskilled on the fundamentals of generative AI. The company employs 780,000 people.

What’s up today

In today’s The Post, Rob Stock reports an expert’s shock as MPs cut her off as she explained supermarkets’ power games, Tom Pullar-Strecker reports Kiwis can expect RBNZ to ‘stay true to the data’, the new Reserve Bank governor says, and Roeland van den Bergh reports Auckland Airport’s profit dipped in its half-year result, but it expects second half set to soar.

Today Winton Land and Vector will report their half-year financial earnings, and Stats NZ will release its latest data covering transport vehicles registrations and overseas merchandise trade data for January.