Shares of utility firms jumped nearly 3% at midday Friday, one of the three sectors trading in the green, as rising fears of over-investment by tech companies and falling gold and silver prices dampened investor confidence.
Meridian Energy's (ASX:MEZ, NZE:MEL) retail contracted sales volumes rose to 809 gigawatt hours (GWh) in January from 787 GWh a year earlier.
On the flip side, the information technology sector fell 5%.
BrainChip Holdings (ASX:BRN) started its AKD2500 custom silicon development project, with prototype silicon expected in the September quarter after the completion of the multi-project wafer cycle.