New Zealand shares finished lower on Monday as markets started to digest the conflict between Iran and the US, which intensified over the weekend.
The S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.48% or 66.32 points to close at 13,656.65.
After Israel launched another round of air strikes on Tehran on Sunday, Iran has responded with fresh missile barrages, a dramatic escalation that came just one day after the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to a latest update from Reuters on Monday.
In domestic news, the New Zealand property market is showing signs of turning, with new listings rising 7.8% year-on-year in February to 12,252, the highest level for February since 2013, while total housing stock increased 1.8%, according to a report by realestate.co.nz.
Further, the total business count across New Zealand fell to 596,955 in January from 598,608 in December 2025, according to data from Stats NZ.
Also, the seasonally adjusted number of filled jobs across New Zealand industries rose 0.2% month-on-month to 2.4 million in January, following a 0.3% decrease in the previous month, data from Stats NZ showed.
In corporate news, a2 Milk Co. (NZE:ATM, ASX:A2M) said members of its executive team have sold up to 50% of the tranches of shares they received before 2024 on vesting of performance rights issued under its long-term incentive plan and one-off time-based rights related to past executive transition arrangements.
Kiwi Property Group (NZE:KPG) said its portfolio was valued at NZ$3 billion across seven investment properties, with an occupancy rate of 98.9%.