NZ sharemarket lifts as Synlait result piques interest

The New Zealand sharemarket rose on Monday, with Synlait Milk’s sale of its Pōkeno factory winning approval from investors.

Tuesday, September 30th 2025, 1:49AM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 0.16% or 20.83 points, rising to 13,132.56 after 38.2 million shares worth $131.6m traded.

The S&P/NZX 20 index closed at 7550.73 points, up 0.11%, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,586.37, rising 0.15%.

There were 85 gainers and 47 decliners on the main board.

Positive day

Generate investment specialist Greg Smith said it was a positive day on the market with investors looking forward to potentially another official cash rate cut (OCR) from the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) next week.

“A 25 basis point cut is pretty much locked in, and we’re now looking at a 30% to 40% probability of a 50 basis point cut,” Smith said.

“We are starting to get a little bit of suggestion from data prints and company announcements that the New Zealand economy is starting to bottom out. If we are at the bottom economy-wise or coming off the bottom, then that’s good for cyclical companies.”

Synlait

Synlait Milk’s share price rallied following its full-year result, rising 15.71% or 11c to $0.81 after 958,873 shares changed hands on turnover worth $783,828.90.

Key to the response was news that the business could soon become debt-free after the sale of its state-of-the-art factory at Pōkeno to Chicago-based Abbott for $307m.

The business reduced its debt over the year by 55%, dropping from $551.6m to $250.7m. Synlait also cut its net loss to $39.82m in the July 31 year, down from $182.11m a year earlier.

“It’s encouraging that they’ve been able to reach a deal to sell loss-making assets. It seems to be seen as a relatively decent price that they’ve received.”

Synlait is the sole supplier of infant formula to a2 Milk, which saw its share price rise 0.42% or 4c to $9.66.

The Fonterra Shareholder Fund also got a boost from the Synlait result, lifting 4c to $7.95 per unit.

Infratil, Mainfreight up

Elsewhere, Infratil had another positive day with its share price lifting 1.56% or 19c to $12.39.

Mainfreight’s share price also rose, up 0.91% or 57c to $62.87 after 80,839 shares traded on turnover worth $5.08m.

Likewise, Freightways saw its share price increase, rising 24c to $13.49.

Ebos dips

Meanwhile, shares in Ebos Group fell late in the day, dropping 40c to $29.60 on turnover worth $5.83m.

Smith said investors should look out for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting on Tuesday, although he noted that the market was not predicting another interest rate cut.

Most Asian markets rose on Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, following US inflation figures that met expectations and soothed concerns about Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvo.

Eyes on US

However, investors were keeping a wary eye on Washington, where lawmakers have failed to reach a funding compromise to keep the Government running, which observers say could affect the release of key data.

All three main indexes in New York ended in the green on Friday, snapping three straight losses following news that the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation rose in line with expectations, giving the bank room to cut interest rates again.

While the 2.7% reading on the August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index was up from 2.6% in July and well above the Fed’s 2% target, policymakers are focusing on supporting the labour market after a string of weak jobs readings.

Their cut, made earlier this month – the first since December – came as a closely watched guide indicated that two more were in the pipeline before January.

– Additional reporting AFP.

Tags: Market Close