Subdued start to 2025 for NZX50
Gold continued its rally amid new year jitters.
New Zealand shares fell in their first day of trading in 2025 with blue-chip companies such as Infratil and Auckland International Airport weighing on the benchmark index.
The S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 42.91 points, or 0.3%, to 13,067.83, in a mixed trading day across Asia after Wall Street set a heavy tone. Tesla’s first decline in annual sales in more than a decade weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight, while gold prices continued to climb as investors gauge how the year is shaping up. Would-be miner Santana Minerals declined 1.9% to 53 cents.
Auckland Airport led the NZX50 lower, falling 2% to $8.53, while Infratil was down 1.9% at $12.365. Air New Zealand slipped 1.7% to 59 cents while Port of Tauranga declined 1.4% to $6.34.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was on track for a second gain in 2025, up 0.7% as energy companies were buoyed by stronger Crude oil prices.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s largely renewable energy sector was mixed. Mercury NZ fell 1.4% to $5.76 and Meridian Energy declined 0.7% to $5.87, while Contact Energy gained 1.9% to $9.68, Genesis Energy increased 0.4% to $2.26 and Manawa Energy climbed 2.9% to $5.76.
Soft kiwi
Exporters were mixed as the kiwi dollar treading water, trading at 56.06 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 55.95 at 7am. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which is also mulling over any impact US tariffs might have on its Mexican operations, fell 1% to $38, while The a2 Milk Co, which is exposed to Chinese consumer sentiment, rose 0.6% to $6.34.
Fletcher Building rose 1.4% to $2.89, Vulcan Steel gained 2.2% to $8 and Stel & Tube Holdings was unchanged at 85 cents as the outgoing US President Joe Biden nears making a decision on whether to approval Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel.
Sky Network Television posted the day’s biggest gain on the NZX50, rising 5.8% to $2.75, while Precinct Properties NZ advanced 3% to $1.215 and Goodman Property Trust gained 2.5% to $2.06.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded major stock with a volume of 1.6 million shares, as it ended the day unchanged at $2.95.
Meanwhile, minnow lender General Capital dropped 7%, or 1.5 cents, to 20 cents, with two large trades for almost a combined 3.5 million shares, or almost 3.9% of the company’s issued stock.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Woldai Wagner on Unsplash.
