New Zealand shares dropped Friday despite gains in Asia as traders digested the latest remarks on trade and interest rates by US President Donald Trump.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.3%, or 35.38 points, to close at 13,024.70.

In contrast, shares in Asia were broadly upbeat following gains on Wall Street, with the Shanghai SSE rising 0.7%, Japan's Nikkei 225 up 0.3%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbing 1.8%

In a television interview with Fox News, Trump said he would rather not have to use further duties against China, a day after threatening to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods as early as Feb. 1.

Separately, Trump told business leaders attending the World Economic Forum that he would ask Saudi Arabia and the OPEC to lower oil prices. He also asked the Fed to make borrowing cheaper for businesses and consumers.

In domestic news, credit card spending in New Zealand rebounded 1% month on month to NZ$5.19 billion in December 2024 following a 0.7% drop in the prior month, data from the Reserve Bank showed Friday.

In corporate news, Genesis Energy (NZE:GNE, ASX:GNE) rose nearly 5% after it reported total retail electricity sales volume of 1,433 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the fiscal second quarter, compared with 1,405 GWh a year earlier.

Manawa Energy (NZE:MNW) said hydro production volumes dropped 16% to 397 GWh in the fiscal third quarter amid lower inflows.