Aussie deal boosts Freightways but NZ sharemarket down
An Australian acquisition made good news for Freightways investors, but it was not enough to lift the NZ sharemarket, which dropped close to 1% on Wednesday.
Wednesday, December 17th 2025, 9:32PM
by BusinessDesk
The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.96% or 129.04 points to 13,295.91 after 37.1 million shares, worth $151.7m, were traded.
The S&P/NZX 20 index was down 1.15%, closing at 7,563.78 points, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,645.07 after falling 1.53%.
There were 52 gainers on the main board and 78 decliners.
Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Jeremy Sullivan said on a down day that the key announcement was Freightways.
Freightways' key move
Freightways’ share price lifted 2.32% or 32c to $14.11 after it announced it was expanding further into Australia through the A$71m (NZ$81m) acquisition of a Victoria-based express parcel and freight business.
The business plans to acquire VT Freight Express (VTFE) on or after January 30, subject to conditions being met.
“It’s not a huge acquisition for Freightways, who are worth over $2.5 billion, but it seems like a natural fit,” Sullivan said.
“The chief executive’s come out and said it was like being at home, so the business seems very similar to their existing operations and a follow-on from their previous acquisition over there.”
Comvita also held its annual meeting today, as the company addressed shareholders after a particularly tough 2025.
Two directors up for re-election faced strong opposition, passing the resolutions by only 59% and 53%.
“Recapitalisation remains the top priority for them. Their first half update in February, that’s where the rubber’s going to hit the road for them.”
However, at market close, it was the board’s largest inhabitants that brought the indices down.
Big players hit
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare’s share price fell 1.72% or 65c to $37.25 after 470,794 shares changed hands on turnover worth $17.5m.
Infratil followed suit, falling 2.50% or 28c to $10.90 after two million shares traded, worth $22.2m.
Elsewhere, gentailers Mercury Energy, Contact Energy and Meridian Energy fell late in the day.
Mercury’s share price fell 0.95% or 6c to $6.26, Contact fell 0.32% or 3c to $9.22, and Meridian’s dropped 3.04% or 17c to $5.43.
Overnight on Tuesday, the latest Global Dairy Trade auction was also held, with the price for whole milk powder falling for the ninth consecutive auction.
“That’s a key farm gate driver, so that may weigh on the farm gate milk price payout and the New Zealand economy as a whole, given the amount that goes through the primary industry sector.”
Sullivan agreed that investors would be looking to the gross domestic product (GDP) figures being released tomorrow, and to a potential announcement from US President Donald Trump after his administration had surrounded Venezuela with an armada.
International news12
Wall Street stocks were little changed early on Tuesday (US time) as markets absorbed US data pointing to a slower employment market, while Ford advanced despite announcing a US$19.5b (NZ$33.7b) cost hit.
The US unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. The US economy lost 105,000 jobs in October but gained 64,000 in November.
The data is the latest sign of a weakening job market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.62% at 48,114.26.
The broad-based S&P 500 was unchanged at 6,815.34, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.2% to 23,093.20.
– Additional reporting AFP.
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