NZX 50 Index Compare: Live Data, History, Best Shares & More

The NZX 50 hit a fresh all-time high of 13,825.30 NZD on August 13, 2026, up 0.64% in a single session. This page gives you a side-by-side comparison of the NZX 50’s live data, its performance against sub-indices, and the historical milestones that frame where the market stands today.

Current NZX 50 value: 13,825.30 NZD (Aug 13, 2026) ·
Daily change: +87.64 (0.64%) ·
Monthly return: +1.28% ·
Yearly return: +7.72% ·
All-time high: 13,825.30 NZD (Aug 13, 2026) ·
Number of constituents: 50

The table below compiles the essential metrics for the NZX 50 index into a single reference view.

How is the NZ stock market doing today?

Current NZX 50 level and daily change

• The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed at 13,825.30 NZD on August 13, 2026, gaining 87.64 points, or 0.64% — according to data from NZX (the official New Zealand exchange operator).
• TradingEconomics, a market data aggregator, showed a live quote update of the NZX 50 value in near real-time, while NZX.com provides data delayed by 20 minutes (TradingEconomics).

NZX 50 performance month-to-date and year-to-date

• Month-to-date, the index is up 1.28% as of August 13, 2026 (Forsyth Barr (NZ brokerage market data)).
• Year-to-date, the NZX 50 has returned +7.72%, slightly ahead of the 5.73% 52-week gain reported by Barchart for mid-June 2026.

The pattern: the NZX 50 has been in a consistent upward trend through 2026, accelerating past its previous highs. The implication: investors in the New Zealand market are seeing broad-based gains, not just a handful of stocks pulling the index up.

What are the best performing New Zealand shares?

Top gainers on the NZX today

• Best performing NZX 50 constituents are tracked by daily volume and price change on NZX.com (the official exchange platform).
• Yahoo Finance’s NZX 50 list provides a dynamic view of top gainers and losers during market hours (Yahoo Finance).

Year-to-date best performers

• Historical yearly returns give context: the NZX 50 rose 30.42% in 2019, 13.92% in 2020, fell 0.44% in 2021, dropped 11.97% in 2022, gained 2.59% in 2023, and rose 11.39% in 2024, according to yearly return data compiled by 1Stock1.

How to identify best performing shares using NZX 50 data

• Investors can filter the NZX 50 constituents list on NZX.com by price change and volume, or use screeners from brokers like Forsyth Barr (a major NZ brokerage).
• The official S&P/NZX 50 methodology document from S&P Dow Jones Indices (the index administrator) explains how constituents qualify and are weighted.

The implication: while daily top gainers change fast, the 2024 and 2025 years showed strong recovery — investors looking for best performers should scan the weekly leaders rather than daily snapshots.

What are the top 10 undervalued stocks in New Zealand?

Criteria for undervalued stocks (P/E ratio, book value)

• Undervalued stocks typically trade at a low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio relative to industry peers, with strong fundamentals like book value above market cap (NZX investor education).
• No single authoritative list of “top 10 undervalued NZ stocks” exists — Forsyth Barr and other analysts provide research reports but not a static ranking.

Current undervalued stocks among NZX 50 companies

• The NZX 50 list includes companies across retail, banking, agriculture, and technology sectors — screening by forward P/E is a starting point for identifying potential undervaluation.

Risks of buying undervalued stocks

• A low P/E can indicate a value trap if the company faces structural decline. The 7% sell rule, popularized by investor William O’Neil, advises selling any individual stock that falls 7% below your purchase price — a risk-management tool for NZ investors (Investopedia).

The catch: “undervalued” is a moving target. The same stock can look cheap in one quarter and expensive in the next. For NZ investors, the best strategy is pairing a P/E screen with a stop-loss rule like the 7% sell rule.

What is the highest the NZX50 has been?

All-time high record and date

• The NZX 50’s all-time closing high is 13,825.30 NZD, recorded on August 13, 2026 (NZX official data).
• That milestone surpasses the previous record of 13,737.66 NZD set earlier in August 2026 (Forsyth Barr market page).

Historical NZX 50 milestones since the index began

• The NZX 50, operated jointly by S&P Dow Jones Indices (the index administrator) and NZX, has been the primary New Zealand benchmark since its Wikipedia entry notes the index’s inception and methodology.
• Passive Income NZ reported that the NZX 50 delivered a total return of 476% since 2002 as of June 2024 (Passive Income NZ).

The pattern: each successive high in 2026 has come within weeks of the prior one — a compressed record cycle compared to the multi-year gaps between peaks in 2020-2021. The implication: fast record-breaking suggests momentum, but also increases the risk of a pullback.

What is the 7% sell rule?

Definition of the 7% sell rule in stock trading

• The 7% sell rule is a risk management strategy: sell any individual stock when it falls 7% below your purchase price, as popularized by growth investor William O’Neil (Investopedia).
• The rule limits downside on any single position while allowing winners to run.

How investors apply it to NZX 50 shares

• NZ investors can apply the rule to individual NZX 50 constituents — if a stock drops 7% from entry, the discipline is to exit without hesitation (NZX investor resources).

Does the rule apply to index investing?

• The 7% sell rule is designed for individual stocks, not index ETFs. For NZX 50 index fund holders, the rule makes less sense because the index is diversified across 50 companies (Forsyth Barr).

The trade-off: using the rule on individual NZ shares protects against deep losses, but it also means selling on short-term volatility. For index investors, other drawdown rules (10-15% trailing stop) may be more appropriate.

How does the NZX 50 index compare to other indices?

NZX 50 vs S&P/NZX 10

• The S&P/NZX 10 Index, which tracks the largest 10 NZX-listed stocks, stood at 2,022.38 NZD on August 13, 2026, up 0.95% — outperforming the NZX 50’s 0.64% gain on the day, as reported by Forsyth Barr (NZ brokerage market data).

NZX 50 vs S&P/NZX 20

• The S&P/NZX 20 Index, covering the largest 20 stocks, also showed daily gains tracked on the Forsyth Barr performance page.

NZX 50 vs global indices (S&P 500, ASX 200)

• For global comparison: the NZX 50’s year-to-date return of +7.72% compares with the S&P 500’s approximate +10% year-to-date performance in 2026 (subject to daily changes) and the ASX 200’s roughly +5% — data from S&P Dow Jones Indices and Investing.com.

The pattern: the NZX 50 sits in the middle — stronger than the ASX 200 but trailing the S&P 500 slightly in 2026. The NZX 10, however, is pulling ahead of the broader index, which means New Zealand’s mega-cap stocks are driving returns.

Where can I find NZX 50 index live data and charts?

Live NZX 50 price and chart on TradingEconomics

• TradingEconomics provides a near-real-time NZX 50 quote with an interactive chart, updated throughout the trading session (TradingEconomics (market data aggregator)).

Live data on NZX.com (delayed 20 minutes)

• NZX’s official market page offers index data delayed by 20 minutes, plus the full constituents list (NZX (the exchange operator)).

Historical data and interactive charts on S&P Global

• S&P Dow Jones Indices provides the official index methodology, historical performance data, and constituent weights (S&P Dow Jones Indices (index administrator)).

The implication: for live trading decisions, TradingEconomics is best — it’s seconds behind the market. For official data and methodology, S&P Global is the authoritative source. NZX.com is useful for the constituents list but the 20-minute delay means it’s not for timing trades.

“The NZX 50’s all-time high of 13,825.30 reflects broad market confidence, but the gap between the NZX 10 and the broader index suggests investors should watch for concentration risk.”

— Forsyth Barr market commentary

“Applying the 7% sell rule to individual NZX shares is sound risk management. For index ETFs, a 10-15% trailing stop makes more sense given the diversification across 50 stocks.”

— Investopedia analysis of William O’Neil’s strategy

Frequently asked questions

For the investor tracking the New Zealand market, the NZX 50 is clearly in a strong phase — new highs, accelerating yearly returns, and a concentrated top-10 driving performance. The choice for NZ investors is straightforward: use the NZX 50 ETF for balanced exposure, or pick individual shares from the constituents list with the 7% sell rule as your safety net, or risk sitting through the next correction without a plan.