New Zealand shares were flat with a negative bias on Wednesday's close, after a mixed Wall Street close on Tuesday following flat US retail sales data.

The S&P/NZX 50 index was little changed to close at 13,507.28.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.59% down, and the Dow Jones managed to gain 0.1%.

US retail sales held at $735 billion in December 2025, unchanged from November of the same year, missing the expected 0.4% gain and slowing from the prior 0.6% monthly growth, according to data released by the US Census Bureau on Tuesday, Seeking Alpha reported.

In domestic news, New Zealand's average home values rose 0.9% over the three months to January, led by a sharp increase in Dunedin, property valuation firm QV said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand households are bracing for a power price hike of about 5% this year, following a 12% increase last year, largely driven by higher line charges, Consumer NZ said in a report

Further, New Zealand's seasonally adjusted volume of ready-mixed concrete rose 2.4% in the December 2025 quarter, following a 3% rise in the preceding three-month period, Stats NZ data showed

Also, a total of 3,083 metric tonnes (MT) of products were sold during the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) pulse auction held on Tuesday, with supply ranging from 2,800 MT to 3,250 MT, according to data from the trading platform.

In corporate news, Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ, NZE:AIR) has cancelled 46 widebody services across its long-haul network, affecting around 9,500 customers, ahead of industrial action planned by its widebody cabin crew on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13.

Bremworth (NZE:BRW) has been granted initial orders by the High Court for its proposed scheme of arrangement with Floorscape.