The a2 Milk Co led the benchmark higher as China eyes softer yuan.
Meridian's Harapaki wind farm.
Meridian Energy and Mercury NZ buoyed New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index in a broadly soft trading session across Asia, with the country’s biggest electricity generator saying strong inflows to hydro schemes boosted national storage through November.
Meanwhile, a2 milk Co led the benchmark index higher amid reports China is coming under pressure let the yuan appreciate to reduce the nation’s reliance exports, which would make the infant formula firm’s products more attractive to its core market.
The kiwi dollar was little changed, while two-year swap rates nudged lower after the Treasury’s half-year fiscal and economic update showed a slower return to surplus than previously envisaged, while finance minister Nicola Willis stuck to her script of maintaining tight budget allowances.
And minnows Rua Bioscience and PaySauce both attracted more interest than they anticipated in their respective capital raisings, with the medicinal cannabis firm’s rights offer oversubscribed and the payroll software firm’s placement upsized.
The NZX50 increased 16.82 points, or 0.1%, to 13,424.95, with just 17 stocks gaining, 31 declining and two unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $136.3 million, of which Auckland International Airport accounted for $17.9 million as it increased 0.4% to $8.18.
Blue chip stocks did the heavy lifting for the local bourse on a day when Asian markets followed Wall Street’s lead, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.6% in late trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 1.9%.
Meridian Energy rose 2.6% to $2.56 after the country’s biggest electricity generator said national hydro storage at 153% of the historical average, with the strongest inflows into schemes since the June 1989 year. Mercury NZ gained 1.8% to $6.32, while Contact Energy dipped 0.5% to $9.25.
Meanwhile, a2 Milk led the benchmark higher, climbing 2.8% to $10.60 after Bloomberg reported China is coming under increased pressure to let its currency depreciate to help the country reduce its reliance on exports. The kiwi dollar was little changed at 4.0707 Chinese yuan at 5pm in Auckland.
Comvita, which also counts China as an important market, gained 4.9% to 53.5 cents.
Among other heavyweight companies buoying the benchmark, Spark New Zealand rose 2.2% to $2.31, while Port of Tauranga increased 0.9% to $7.59 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare advanced 0.2% to $37.90.
Precinct Properties NZ was the most heavily traded stock on a volume of 2.7 million shares, ending the day unchanged at $1.17.
Gentrack led the benchmark index lower, falling for a fifth session as the utilities software developer declined 3.5% to $8.48, with tech companies around the world on the back foot. Vista Group International declined 2.6% to $2.63 and travel software developer Serko decreased 0.3% to $3.02.
Retirement village operators were mixed after Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures showed an unexpectedly soft November for the housing market. Oceania Health slipped 3.2% to 90 cents and Summerset Group Holdings declined 1.7% to $12.18, while Ryman Healthcare increased 0.3% to $2.95.
Building materials firm Fletcher Building declined 0.6% to $3.60, while property developer Winton Land was unchanged at $2.10 and CDL Investments fell 3.1% to 78 cents.
Outside the benchmark index, PaySauce remained in a trading halt at 28 cents after increasing its planned placement by $500,000 to $3.5 million. The 26 cents per share offering will be accompanied by a $1 million share purchase plan.
And Rua Bioscience’s 2.5 cents per share one-for-three rights offering was oversubscribed, raising an additional $280,000, with $2.3 million raised. The shares rose 7.1% to 3 cents.
The kiwi dollar was little changed after the Treasury’s half-year economic and fiscal update showed a slower return to surplus for the Crown, while finance minister Nicola Willis reiterated her commitment to running tight budget allowances in the coming year.
“The loss of economic momentum over the second half of this year has pushed out the recovery into next year,” Kiwibank economists Mary Jo Vergara and Sabrina Delgado said in a note. “However, underpinned by monetary policy stimulus and higher terms of trade, Treasury now expect a stronger rebound in growth over 2026.”
The New Zealand dollar traded at 57.76 US cents at 5pm in Auckland form 57.70 cents yesterday, while two-year swaps fell 4 basis points to 2.99%.
Meanwhile, Statistics New Zealand figures showed selected monthly prices rose at a faster pace than expected in November, even as food prices softened.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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