Ebos Group sell-off pushes down NZ sharemarket

One large transaction for Ebos Group led down the NZ sharemarket, as the market’s largest participants followed suit.

Thursday, December 4th 2025, 7:54PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 0.49% or 66.925 points at 13,515.62 after 28.1 million shares, worth $161.9 million, were traded.

The S&P/NZX 20 index was down 0.65%, closing at 7707.31 points, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,897.70 after falling 0.66%.

There were 65 gainers on the main board and 59 decliners.

Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Jeremy Sullivan said the market was off, but Fonterra was the news of the day.

Fonterra

Fonterra’s total group profit after tax for the three months to Oct 31 was $278m, up $15m – the equivalent of 17 cents per share.

“Business as usual for them to a certain extent. There’s nothing surprising in the end, the narrowing of the farmgate milk price will help farmers with their with their budgeting and so forth at 950 kilogrammes of milk solids,” Sullivan said.

“It’s still a relatively buoyant year although it’s been eight global dairy trade auctions in a row that have come down. So, there’s going to be a bit of pressure on those wholesale prices over the next year.”

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units traded in light volume with 104,798 units changing hands on turnover worth $826,646.

Ebos Group led the day’s downturn after a single trader sold 1.5m shares, out of the $44.4m traded by close, with its share price falling 1.58% or 45c to $28.05.

Elsewhere, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare also dragged the market down, falling 0.47% or 18c to $38.20 on turnover worth $26.1m.

Vital Healthcare completed its share purchase plan, shedding 4.55% or 9c to $1.89 on turnover worth $2.9m.

Sullivan said there may be a small potential overhang, but those that have subscribed to that are now “underwater”.

Meridian Energy fell for another day, dropping 1.22% or 7c to $5.65, while Infratil fell 1.77% or 21c to $11.65.

Trading halt lifted

Meanwhile, New Talisman Gold Mines had its trading halt lifted and announced it is currently in negotiations with Terra Firma Mining. The business said it expects to open a wider capital raise in February 2026.

International news

Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness on Wednesday and finished with solid gains after poor US hiring data boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

The report showed US companies shed 32,000 jobs in November, payroll firm ADP said, in a surprise drop that added to worries about economic weakness while also boosting expectations for Fed monetary policy relief.

All three major US indices finished higher, with the S&P 500 up 0.3%.

Optimism over US rate cuts won an additional boost from reports that Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett, a proponent of more rate reductions, is the frontrunner to take the helm at the Fed when Jerome Powell’s tenure ends in May.

The euro hit a seven-week high against the dollar, noted analyst Axel Rudolph at trading platform IG International.

Meanwhile the pound gained around 1 per cent against the dollar, also receiving a boost from data showing stronger than expected activity from the UK services sector.

– Additional reporting AFP

Tags: Market Close