Government energy reforms spark NZX rally, Meridian leads gentailer gains
The New Zealand sharemarket lifted on Wednesday as the big four gentailers rallied after the Government’s announcement of energy sector reforms.
Wednesday, October 1st 2025, 6:37PM
by BusinessDesk
The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 1.07% or 141.63 points, rising to 13,433.99 after 46 million shares worth $181.1 million traded.
The S&P/NZX 20 index closed at 7,721.78 points, up 1.07%, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,869.12, rising 1.16%.
There were 98 gainers and 48 decliners on the main board.
The Government, in response to a long-awaited report from consultancy Frontier Economics, said it would partially open up the big three partially state-owned power generators to fresh capital and would look into importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to augment flagging gas reserves.
Craigs Investment Partners investment director Mark Lister said the whole sector would benefit.
“I think the key point is it’s positive developments for the sector, and Meridian is already the biggest beneficiary because of potentially the dry year risk being mitigated,” Lister said.
“The commentary around funding of new generation development, that’s also seen as a positive for all of those three government-owned entities.”
Energy rally
Meridian Energy’s share price rallied after the news, rising 4.67% or 26c to $5.83 after 2.56 million shares traded on turnover worth $14.8m.
The other majority Government-owned providers, Genesis Energy and Mercury Energy, also lifted.
Genesis Energy's share price rose 2.13% or 5c to $2.40, while Mercury Energy’s lifted 1.35% or 9c to $6.77.
Contact Energy, the only provider without ownership by the Government, also benefited from the news, lifting 8c or 0.88% to $9.18.
Elsewhere, the Fonterra Shareholders Fund fell 0.63% or 5c to $7.95 per unit.
'Performing well'
Now that the September quarter had finished, Lister said it was the fifth consecutive monthly rise for the NZ market, dating back to May.
“The local market is up almost 12% since the end of April, so it hasn’t been too bad. In September, the market was up 2.8%. So even though there’s still bad news coming out like the GDP report and a lot of doom and gloom, the market is still actually performing well.”
Overseas, the United States Government officially shut down due to a stalemate on budget talks, the first shutdown in more than six years, causing US futures to fall.
The Dow finished at a fresh record on Tuesday (US time) as markets largely shrugged off the likelihood of the partial government shutdown.
Major US equity indices veered in and out of negative territory throughout the day before finishing in the black. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% at 46,397.89.
Several federal government operations were expected to freeze, beginning at midnight on Tuesday, if there is no breakthrough. Talks between congressional leaders and President Donald Trump concluded on Monday without progress.
“The market seems to be ignoring the fact that we’re looking at a potential shutdown,” Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management said.
Analysts say a shutdown will not significantly affect the US economy unless it is prolonged. While some activity would be curtailed, the expectation is that there would be a bounce when the Government reopened.
However, a closure would delay the release of key economic data, including the September jobs report, which is scheduled to be released on Friday.
– Additional reporting AFP
| « KFC-owner Restaurant Brands soars as NZX 50 locks in 1.22% gain | Ryman extends rally to help NZX 50 continue gains » |
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