NZ sharemarket starts week up 0.9% after late surge
New Zealand stocks ended firmly after a late surge of buying, the benchmark S&P/NZX50 index getting a boost from big gains in the dairy sector and a bounce in Fisher and Paykel Healthcare.
Monday, March 10th 2025, 6:30PM
by BusinessDesk
The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed 116.19 points (0.94%) higher at 12,515.97, with 32.46 million shares (worth $137.5m) trading on the main board.
There were 85 gains and 50 falls.
Prices had only been modestly firmer during most of the session before late buying pushed the index close to a 1% gain.
Among the other indices, the S&P/NZX20 index closed at 7457, up 67 points or 0.9%, while the S&P/NZX10 index ended at 12,322, up 109.7 points or 0.9 %.
US recession
In the big picture, uncertainty continued to hang over the market due to the United States' ever-shifting stance on world trade tariffs.
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession in the world’s biggest economy, which also unsettled investor sentiment.
But the main local news of the day was Fonterra’s earnings upgrade for 2025 from 40-60 cents per share to 55-75 cents per share.
The upgraded forecast sits alongside a strong $10/kg milk price forecast for the current season, which ends on May 31.
The dairy co-op’s six-month result is due on March 20.
Its dividend policy is 60-80% of full-year earnings, with up to 50% of the full-year dividend to be paid for the interim period.
Fonterra also kicked off investor roadshow meetings to discuss the possible sale of its consumer wing and associated businesses with a view to a potential initial public offer.
The co-op’s units, which give investors access to its dividend flow, ended at $5.45, up 26c or 5.01%.
Fonterra’s farmer-only shares closed at $4.87, up 17c (3.62%).
Other stocks
Elsewhere in dairy, Synlait Milk firmed 6c (6.7%) to 96c, and a2 Milk continued to build on a strong performance so far this year by gaining 10c (1.13%) to $8.97.
Greg Smith, head of retail at Devon Funds, said there had been good news flowing from the dairy sector, with the farm gate milk price heading for a record $10/kg and with Fonterra’s upgrade.
“There are different drivers there, of course, but a2 Milk is enjoying strong demand in China, and Synlait is moving on from its restructure, “ Smith said.
Synlait – about 20% owned by a2 Milk – is a key supplier of infant formula to a2 – its biggest customer.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which has a big facility in Mexico – a key tariff target along with Canada and China – saw its share price rally by 53c (1.5%) to $35.03 after being weaker for most of the session.
“There is a lot of uncertainty, but you have to bear in mind that we have a lot of defensive names here,” Smith said. “It (US trade policy) is evolving at a brisk pace, so there is a lot there for investors to try and make sense of.
“It seems as if the Trump administration is prepared to take short-term uncertainty in return for longer-term economic gain, but it would be highly disruptive if the tariffs were put in place in their current form.
“There is a lot of uncertainty in the market as to how it’s going to play out.”
Looking ahead, the retail sector is set to come into sharper focus this week.
Electronic card transaction data for February is due on Wednesday, as is Briscoe Group’s annual result.
Last month, Briscoe Group said sales for the 52 weeks to Jan 26 were just 0.06% below the record $792m reported for last year.
Briscoe shares ended 1c down at $4.55.
Smith said Briscoe Group was “a beacon of light in [a] pretty battered sector”.
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