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Infratil sparks NZX50 rally on ASX200 addition

3 min read

Infratil drove the S&P/NZX 50 index higher as the infrastructure investor rallied on its addition to Australia’s benchmark equity index, meaning passive investors will need to incorporate the Kiwi firm into their portfolios.

Power companies were broadly weaker after Meridian Energy and Mercury NZ updated their latest operating stats, with hydro lake levels looking full enough to avoid a repeat of last year’s winter chill.

Meanwhile, Australia’s stock market declined as mounting US inflation is showing signs that US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime is finding its way into making life more expensive for households.

And the LPF-backed class action against ANZ New Zealand and ASB Bank took a new twist with a very public offer to settle the suit as policymakers started hearing submissions on the controversial legislation that would give judges a bit more discretion in deciding any penalties on the four-year litigation.

On the up

The NZX50 rose for a second day, up 64.96 points, or 0.5%, at 12,754.59, with 21 stocks gaining, 21 declining, and eight unchanged. Turnover on the main board was $107.3 million.

Infratil led the local market higher, climbing 3.5% to $11.20 after the infrastructure investor said it will join the S&P/ASX 200 index next week. It was the most heavily traded stock on the day, with a volume of 2.3 million shares changing hands.

“It was up as much as 8.5% after being added to the ASX200,” said Matt Goodson, a managing director at Salt Funds Management. “The timing was a surprise, a space must’ve opened up because of a takeover, but it’s not unexpected they’ve been added.”

The ASX200 was down 0.9% in late trading as investors fretted over US inflation figures overnight showing signs that US President Donald Trump’s tariff programme is starting to bite into households by pushing up consumer prices, and cooling expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. S&P futures are pointing to a 0.2% decline when Wall Street opens.

The New Zealand dollar traded at 59.50 cents at 5pm in Auckland from 59.47 cents yesterday.

Mainfreight rose 2.3% to $67.54 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare advanced 1.5% to $35.99.

Tower rose for a third day, up 2.5% at $1.65 and nearing a decade-high after Forsyth Barr initiated coverage on the general insurer with an ‘outperform’ rating.

Water, water everywhere

Meridian slipped 0.5% to $5.77 after its monthly operating metrics showed national hydro storage increased, sitting 104% of the historical average at July 14, while Mercury fell 1.1% to $6.12 after its quarterly update showed healthy hydro storage heading into the June 2026 financial year.

Salt’s Goodson said the updates showed the country’s hydro dams aren’t going to run out of water this winter.

NZ Windfarms, which is being taken over by Meridian, received its final orders from the High Court enabling the scheme with the larger power company. It will delist at the end of the month. Stock exchange operator NZX rose 1.3% to $1.54.

Tourism Holdings unwound some of Tuesday’s gains, posting the biggest decline on the NZX50 as it fell 3.7% to $2.08. The rental campervan operator is under a takeover offer from the Trouchet family and BGH Capital, with a non-binding bid lobbed in at $2.30 a share.

Meanwhile, the local class action against ANZ and ASB over their disclosure failures ratcheted up today with the LPF-backed suit making a public offer to settle the case during an oral submission to Parliament’s finance and expenditure select committee, which is considering legislation that will retrospectively grant the judge in the case discretion when setting a penalty if liability is proved.

And while local KiwiSaver providers wait for commerce minister Scott Simpson to make a decision on whether to make it easier for them to invest in private assets, the Wall Street Journal reported President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days to make private market investments more readily available to US retirement plans.

Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Tonia Kraakman on Unsplash.