NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Blue-chip stocks Meridian, A2 lead market lower

By Paul McBeth
BusinessDesk·
18 Oct, 2019 04:36 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Meridian, led the local market lower, down 2.2 per cent at $5.28. Photo / 123RF

Meridian, led the local market lower, down 2.2 per cent at $5.28. Photo / 123RF

New Zealand shares fell, led by blue-chip stocks such as Meridian Energy and A2 Milk Co, as weaker than expected Chinese growth weighed on Asian markets.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 74.74 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 11,067.12. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 19 rose, and six were unchanged. Turnover was $137.1 million.

Stocks across Asia fell after China said gross domestic product grew at an annual 6 percent pace in the third quarter, its slowest pace in almost 30 years and falling short of economists' 6.1 per cent forecast. China's Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.6 per cent in afternoon trading, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index also fell 0.6 per cent, and Singapore's Straits Times Index declined 0.4 per cent.

Meridian, New Zealand's biggest listed company, led the local market lower, down 2.2 per cent at $5.28 on a volume of 2.9 million shares, more than its 90-day average of 1.4 million. It's been the best-performing stock on the NZX50 so far this year, up 56 per cent, with investors attracted to the reliable dividend income in a low interest rate environment.

Among other blue-chip stocks, A2 was down 2.1 per cent at $13.07, Ryman Healthcare declined 1.8 per cent to $13.30, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare decreased 1.3 per cent to $18.75 and Contact Energy slipped 1.2 per cent to $8.45 on a volume of 2.8 million shares.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

SkyCity Entertainment Group edged up 0.3 per cent to $3.94 after telling shareholders that there had been a positive start to the new financial year, particularly at its Auckland gaming machines.

Matt Goodson, a managing director at Salt Funds Management, said trading appeared to be going okay for the casino operator, which he said was surprising given its past sensitivity to a slowing economy.

"Despite a plethora of signs of a weaker economy, things seem to be hanging in there well for SkyCity," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sanford was up 2.7 per cent at $7.15 after the seafood group said there had been promising trial results for its greenshell mussel breeding programme. Goodson said that wouldn't deliver any benefits tomorrow, but could be quite significant over the next five years.

Synlait Milk posted the day's biggest gain, up 2.9 per cent at $9.70 on a volume of 67,000 shares, just below its 82,000 average.

Sky Network Television was the most traded stock on a volume of 3.7 million shares, more than three times its 1.1 million average. It was unchanged at $1.07.

Goodson said investors were divided on the company, with some seeing strong upside since it secured the rugby broadcasting rights, and just as many seeing a similar downside in a changing content environment.

Discover more

Business

Synlait Milk buys Canterbury's Dairyworks for $112m

24 Oct 08:09 PM

Spark New Zealand, which has been an aggressive competitor for sports rights, rose 1.1 per cent to $4.49 on a volume of 2.4 million shares, less than its 3.1 million average. The telco today said it would promote Stefan Knight to chief financial officer from next March, with David Chalmers to return to Melbourne.

Mercury NZ rose 0.4 per cent to $5.48 on a volume of 1 million shares, more than its 784,000 average. The electricity generator-retailer lifted earnings guidance due to rising storage at its Waikato catchment and sustained high wholesale electricity prices.

Among other stocks trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Fletcher Building fell 0.4 per cent to $4.82, and Infratil was down 0.5 per cent at $4.92.

Goodson said there was speculation Fletcher will fall out of an MSCI index and Mercury will be added in the November reweighting, which had supported Mercury's price. Contact was also a chance of being added, he said.

Kathmandu Holdings fell 1.3 per cent to $3.14 on a volume of just 92,000 shares, less than a third of its 301,000 average. Shareholders today overwhelmingly backed the $368m acquisition of Rip Curl.

Outside the benchmark index, Eroad rose 4.6 per cent to $3.17 after the fleet management technology company said third-quarter sales were strong, and that it's considering a secondary listing on the ASX.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Business

Du Val investor case struck out and Chinese pet food giant scoping NZ factory

Business|personal finance

Broadcaster Melissa Chan-Green on how she bounced back from redundancy

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Business|economy

Emails reveal Willis wanted Budget lock-up to be more restricted

13 Jul 05:00 PM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Du Val investor case struck out and Chinese pet food giant scoping NZ factory

Du Val investor case struck out and Chinese pet food giant scoping NZ factory

BusinessDesk's Garth Bray on Business with 2degrees. Video / Herald NOW

Broadcaster Melissa Chan-Green on how she bounced back from redundancy

Broadcaster Melissa Chan-Green on how she bounced back from redundancy

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Emails reveal Willis wanted Budget lock-up to be more restricted

Emails reveal Willis wanted Budget lock-up to be more restricted

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
On The Up: Speak eyes $4t market with personalised shopping tech

On The Up: Speak eyes $4t market with personalised shopping tech

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP