NZ sharemarket rises with gentailers leading after Contact-Manawa deal

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 1.11% or 138.04 points, rising to 12,605.07, with 41,673,190 shares changing hands to the value of $151 million.

The S&P/NZX20 index closed at 7,471.87, up 1.16%, while the S&P/NZX10 index closed at 1,911.09, up 1.38%.

There were 97 gainers on the main board and 41 decliners.

Contact-Manawa deal

Gentailers across the board had the most movement on Friday after Contact Energy was given the green light to acquire NZX-listed Manawa Energy on Wednesday.

The Commerce Commission said it was satisfied that the acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any NZ market.

Contact issued a $1.86 billion scheme to take over Manawa in September 2024. With Manawa’s debt included, the deal's enterprise value is $2.3b, making Contact the second-largest generator in NZ.

Energy shares up

Shares in Meridian rose 1.58% to $5.80, up 9c.

Contact Energy’s shares rose 2.35% to $9.15, up 21c, while Manawa Energy's share price rose 1.62% to $6.26, up 10c.

Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Jeremy Sullivan said Meridian did the heavy lifting.

“The general optimism that we’re seeing has come out of the US with trade deals with the UK, and over this weekend, Chinese and US officials meeting in Switzerland to break the ice, that was the quote,” Sullivan said.

“So probably too early to have anything concrete coming out from that, and hopefully it’s positive and they can start to put some pen to paper in the not-too-distant future.”

Precinct down

Elsewhere, Precinct Properties NZ's share price fell 1.27% on Friday to $1.16, down 1.5c.

Sullivan also said to keep an eye on NZME’s shares following the announcement that the company and major shareholders have elected a new board of directors, led by former National Party MP Steven Joyce and including activist shareholder Jim Grenon.

NZME explores a car sales platform

NZME also announced it was investigating a new car sales digital classifieds platform to compete with Trade Me, although Sullivan said he wouldn’t be holding his breath on a competitor unless the business was prepared to lose a lot of money for a long period of time.

As the reporting season begins, Sullivan said to look out for the results of Ryman Healthcare, Mainfreight, and Kiwi Property Group and the Reserve Bank of NZ's rate cut decision on May 28.

US-UK trade deal cuts tariffs

US stocks finished firmly in the green on Thursday after President Donald Trump unveiled a "breakthrough” trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

The deal reduces tariffs on British cars, steel, and aluminium, and in return, Britain will open up its markets to US beef and other agricultural products.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6% at 41,368.45, as did the broad-based S&P 500, which closed at 5,663.94.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.1% to 17,928.14.

China tops export forecast

China said on Friday its exports rose 8.1% in April, topping forecasts, as the country fought a gruelling trade war with the United States. The figures were much higher than the 2.0% predicted by Bloomberg.

Imports also beat expectations, dropping 0.2%, compared with the 6.0% slide analysts had estimated.

– Additional reporting by AFP