NZ sharemarket up but Pacific Edge waits for coverage confirmation

The New Zealand sharemarket rose today following Genesis’ release of its third-quarter report late on Wednesday. At the same time, Pacific Edge awaits a crucial decision Friday on whether it will retain US coverage.

Thursday, April 24th 2025, 6:51PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 0.51% or 61.37 points, rising to 12,017.84, with 29,855,807 shares changing hands to the value of $174.1 million.

The S&P/NZX20 index closed at 7,131.57, up 0.39%, while the S&P/NZX10 index closed at 1,820.88, up 0.28%.

There were 92 gainers and 42 decliners on the main board.

'A pretty good quarterly report'
Late Wednesday night, Genesis Energy released its third-quarter performance report, revealing that its Huntly portfolio continues to display strong flexibility. It is now able to flex by around 1000MW a day to accommodate wind and hydro volatility.

Genesis Energy also said talks are continuing with market participants about keeping a third coal- and gas-powered Rankine at Huntly going until 2035.

Shares in Genesis rose 1.39% to $2.19, up 3c with 251,023 shares trading hands to the value of $548,849.76.

Salt Funds Management managing director Matt Goodson said that Genesis did tend to benefit, given its ownership of the Huntly operation.

“Genesis came out with a pretty good quarterly report, in contrast to the other gentailers who’ve been struggling a bit with a lack of water in the lakes,” Goodson said.

Meridian managed to have a positive day, with its share price rising 2.53% to $5.68, up 14 cents, as 2,744,191 shares traded for a value of $15,584,664.79.

Pacific Edge also experienced significant movement today, with its share price falling 7.32% to $0.11. A total of 257,628 shares changed hands, valued at $30,423.60.

Goodson said that the market will be looking for the decision on Friday on whether Pacific Edge will lose coverage under Medicare and Medicaid in the US.

“That would be a ludicrous outcome, because they’ve been included in the American Neurological Association guidelines with quite helpful wording.

“We don’t know if they’ll lose coverage or whether CMS has been waiting for the outcome of this court case, and the court said they lacked jurisdiction to try it.”

Elsewhere, Mercury NZ saw its share price rise by 1.77% to $5.76, up 10 cents, with 4,686,055 shares trading for a value of $26,984,306.51.

SkyCity Entertainment Group’s share price rose 1.82% to $1.12, up 2 cents, with 431,306 shares trading for a value of $484,754.21.

Goodson said that many movements today were seemingly random, although that tends to happen with a short week.
Asian markets

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday after President Donald Trump said he had “no intention” of firing the US central bank head and made conciliatory comments on his trade war with China.

Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates had raised fears that he would fire its “Mr Too Late” chief Jerome Powell, in a major blow to its independence.

Trump’s rollback on Wednesday boosted Wall Street, as did his comments that US tariffs on China were “very high” and would “come down substantially”.

The broad-based S&P 500 finished 1.7% higher on Wednesday. European stocks also rallied, with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange gaining more than 3%.

Trump could also exempt car parts from some tariffs on China alongside those on steel and aluminium in a “destacking”, the Financial Times reported.

Tokyo rose more than 1%, while Sydney added 0.6% and Shanghai 0.3%. But Seoul fell after official data showed South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1% in the first three months of 2025.

– Additional reporting AFP

Tags: Market Close