NZ Sharemarket Tumbles 1.15%: Expert Analysis and Investor Guidance

“No one has fallen off the roof here, and I don’t think there’s anything to panic about. “United States officials are meeting with European leaders and [US] President [Donald] Trump is speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos early morning on Thursday our time, and hopefully, we will see a de-escalation in the tough talk and rhetoric, and return to a calmer situation,” Lister said. Wall Street had its worst trading day in three months because of concerns over United States and European trade tensions and Trump’s grab for Greenland for “world security reasons”. Trump has threatened 10% additional tariffs on imports into the US from eight European Union Nato countries, starting on February 1 and escalating to 25% on June 1, “until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland”. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 870 points or 1.76% to 48,488.59; the S&P 500 declined 2.06% to 6,796.86; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.39% to 22,954. The CBOE Volatility Index – Wall Street’s fear gauge – was up 6.63% to 20.09, its highest level since late November. The beneficiary, of course, was the safe-haven gold, rising 3.48% to a record high of more than US$4841 ($8298) an ounce. At home, many of the leading stocks were covered in red. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 20c to $38.40; Auckland International Airport declined 22c or 2.59% to $8.26; Infratil eased 15c to $11; Contact Energy decreased 11c to $9.20; and Fletcher Building gave up the gain of the day before, falling 10c or 2.57% to $3.79. Retirement village operator Summerset was down 22c, or 1.8%, to $12, and Ryman Healthcare decreased 8c, or 2.68%, to $2.90. A2 Milk decreased 15c to $9.55; Hallenstein Glasson was down 13c to $9.72; Tower shed 6c or 3.06% to $1.90; The Warehouse fell 2.5c or 3.25% to 74.5c; and NZX shed 3c or 1.91% to $1.54. Meridian Energy decreased 14c or 2.46% to $5.55 after telling the market that generation at this stage of the financial year was up 13%, and retail sales volumes increased 12% compared with the previous corresponding period. Total connections were 19.5% higher than in December 2024. In the month to January 12, national hydro storage fell from 153% to 115% of the historical average. So far this financial year, total inflows are 144% of the historical average, the second-highest July-to-December period on record. Meridian said, “We’ve begun this year in a very strong position when it comes to hydro storage. A wet spring and early summer have been good for the company and broader electricity market.” As a result, wholesale electricity prices had stayed low, Meridian said. Its average generation sales price was less than $7 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in December and $77 for the first half of the financial year. Mercury, down 3c to $6.47, said in its quarterly update that the high hydro inflows meant wholesale spot prices averaged $40 per MWh in Auckland, and forward prices for the region have eased considerably to $135 per MWh. Hydro generation was up 23% to 1072GWh compared with the previous corresponding period of 872GWh, and national demand increased 3.1% for the quarter, mainly due to the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter resuming normal operations, Mercury said. Amongst the few gainers, Gentrack was up 22c or 2.75% to $8.22; Third Age Health increased 19c or 4.16% to $4.76; and Delegat Group lost 10c to $4.61.