Among the gentailers, Mercury NZ increased 1.9 per cent, while Meridian Energy lost 3.4 per cent. A government investigation has found the Electricity Authority (EA) must "strengthen its oversight" of system operator Transpower following power cuts that left over 34,000 households without electricity on 9 August 2021. The report urges the establishment of best-practice arrangements for communication with lines companies and retailers in a grid emergency.
Consumer non-cyclicals and real estate applied downward pressure to the index, falling 1.1 and 0.9 per cent, respectively.
Serko slipped 12.5 per cent following a $75 million placement, which was fully subscribed at $7.05 per share, representing a 10.2 per cent discount on the last close.
Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge fell 5.8 per cent following its interim results release. The first half financial year 2022 result came in with an operating revenue of $5.4 million and total lab throughput of 11,136. The Kaiser integration was a focus, and will continue to be, for Pacific Edge.
International
US
US markets were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving.
Rest of the World
Asian market highlights included the Hang Seng and the Nikkei advancing 0.7 and 0.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 per cent.
News included the Bank of Korea raising its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.0 per cent, an unexpected move which saw its currency trade weaker overnight.
Commodities
In commodities this morning, gold has advanced 0.2 per cent to US$1,789.9 per ounce.
WTI crude oil lost 0.3 per cent to US$78.15 per barrel at the time of writing, as an emergency reserve release from OPEC+ (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is set for the near future.
Yields slid lower after an impressive run this week, with the 10-year US Treasury rate now priced at 1.64 per cent.
In the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin pushed toward the US$60k mark, advancing 3.6 per cent to US$59,178.7. Similarly, Ethereum has moved forward 6.1 per cent over the last 24-hour period, trading at US$4,508 this morning.
Australia
The ASX 200 reversed the previous session's trend and closed 0.1 per cent higher on Thursday.
Information technology (+2.4 per cent) and materials (+0.9 per cent) were the best performing sectors yesterday, while financials (-0.9 per cent) and energy (-0.5 per cent) were the laggards of the day.
EML Payments was the single stock winner on Thursday, surging 31.3 per cent to A$3.61. The pre-paid card issuer won a favourable regulatory ruling in Ireland, which means that there will not be any "broad based reductions in limit controls on programs" imposed on EML's subsidiary PFS Card Services (Ireland) Limited (PCSIL).
Next in line was pig iron and nickel ore producer Nickel Mines, rising a further 7.2 per cent, likely still buoyed by Monday's announcement of its memorandum of understanding with Shanghai Decent.
Aerial imagery technology and location data company Nearmap also performed well, up 4.4 per cent, reversing its downward trend over the past two weeks. News from earlier this week say the company is planning to enhance and expand its post-catastrophe program, Nearmap ImpactResponse, in North America. The expansion could help users to better understand impacts of natural disasters and could aid emergency services in rescue missions.
On the flip side, life insurance, superannuation, and pensions provider AMP decreased 5.0 per cent.
Online retailer Kogan.com also underperformed, down 4.3 per cent. The company held its annual general meeting yesterday, where almost 42 per cent of proxy votes were cast against its remuneration policies for a second year in a row, resulting in a second strike under the Corporations Act 2001.
Rounding out the worst performers was Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, closing 3.4 per cent lower.
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