BlackRock dumps $1 billion stake in Meridian and Contact

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 48.2 points, or 0.3%, to 12,684.73. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 19 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was an enormous $1.4b.

Renewable electricity generator, Meridian Energy saw more than 106 million shares change hands, or 4.1% of all shares on issue, pushing its price up 0.8% to $6.05.

Another 81.5 million Contact Energy shares were bought and sold, or 10.4% of all shares, as the stock climbed 2.4% to $7.68.

Matthew Goodson, a director at Salt Funds, said a “tremendous amount of prepositioning” from active investors had helped the price to stay stable.