NZ Market Gains On Potential Peace Talks

The New Zealand sharemarket had its biggest single-day rise in nearly 11 months yesterday as Iran and the United States started talks about ending the current Middle East conflict. The S&P/NZX 50 Index climbed steadily all day and closed at 12,929.3, a gain of 227.55 points or 1.79%.  The index increased 2.06% on May 1 last year during the time of market volatility over the US tariffs. There were 88 gainers and 35 decliners on the main board, with 29.33 million shares worth $121.16m changing hands.

The US had sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war, and Iran said it would let "non-hostile" oil tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The oil price went under US$100 a barrel, with Brent Crude trading at US$99.51, a fall of 4.77%.

The New Zealand 10 Year Government Bond yield was down 11 basis points to 4.73%. Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 1.76% to 8526.9 points at 6pm NZ time, after headline inflation eased in February but underlying price pressures and a sharp jump in electricity costs remained stubborn. The Consumer Price Index increased 3.7% in the year to February, down from 3.8% for the 12 months to January. Electricity prices surged 37% in the 12 months to February, up from 32.2% in the year to January, and housing was still the biggest driver of annual inflation, rising 7.2% in the year to February, from 6.8% in the 12 months to January.

Blue-chip stocks made strong recoveries. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare increased $1.01 or 2.79% to $37.19; Auckland International Airport was up 15c or 1.89% to $8.08; Infratil gained 38c or 3.52% to $11.18; and Ebos Group rose 95c or 4.42% to $22.45. Mainfreight collected 99c or 1.73% to $58.20; a2 Milk increased 18c to $11.08; Gentrack was up 15c or 2.18% to $7.02; Ryman Healthcare gained 5c or 2.37% to $2.16; and SkyCity Entertainment Group added 2.5c or 3.47% to 74.5c.

In the energy sector, Meridian was up 14c or 2.62% to $5.48, and Contact added 22c or 2.46% to $9.17. Mercury, up 4c to $6.25, has completed a $250m offer for seven-year green bonds, including $50m oversubscriptions, at an interest rate of 5.17% a year. The dual-listed banking stocks rebounded, with ANZ increasing $1.28 or 2.98% to $44.30, and Westpac rising $1.29 or 2.73% to $48.50.

Port of Tauranga was up 10c to $7.96; Sanford gained 20c or 2.88% to $7.15; and Oceania Healthcare added 3c or 4.3% to 74c. In the technology sector Serko was down 5c or 3.33% to $1.45, and Eroad was up 1.5c or 1.85% to 82.5c.

Among the small caps, ArborGen was up 0.006c or 6.19% to 10.3c; WasteCo increased 0.001c or 16.67% to 0.7c; Bremworth gained 2c or 2.61% to 78.5c; and Savor was down 0.009c or 4.57% to 18.8c.

KMD Brands went into a trading halt after telling the market it was planning a capital raise – the amount was not disclosed.  KMD delayed the announcement of its half-year financial results for a day while it sounded out selected investors. Before the trading halt, KMD was down 0.005c or 2.5% to 19.5c.

Fuel importer Channel Infrastructure, down 5c to $2.98, told the market it has almost 300m  litres of storage currently in service at Marsden Point and an additional 350m litres of tank capacity that can be converted to provide additional storage for New Zealand. Channel was having discussions with its customers and confirmed it has identified some very preliminary options for significantly increasing diesel storage capacity on an accelerated time frame. Import terminal operations at Marsden Point continue as normal despite the disruptions to the global fuel supply chain caused by the Middle East conflict, the company said.

Source: Business Desk

Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 5 points lower at 8544.

- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The local share market has had its best day in almost a year, after reports the US is seeking a ceasefire with Iran buoyed investor sentiment.

The S&P/ASX200 surged 154.9 points on Wednesday, up 1.85 per cent, to 8,534.3, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 174 points, or 2.03 per cent, to 8,745.3.

It was the best day since April 10, 2025, when the market rebounded more than four per cent from US President Trump's disastrous Liberation Day tariff sell-off.

Wednesday's rebound clawed back more than $56 billion of an estimated $300 billion wiped out since the conflict began.

The ceasefire reports leaned heavily on claims made by US officials, and have not been confirmed by Tehran.

"The market seemed to seize on the optimistic view expressed by the US president, and ignore all other news flow, and that is sort of supporting the markets," Moomoo' market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.??

"(But) while the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded, Iran has a lot of say in the length of this war - It is not a decision that the US can unilaterally make, unless they get the firepower on the ground there to force open the strait."

Beaten down mining stocks were the biggest benefactors after three weeks of heavy losses, the basic materials sector up more than four per cent and clambering out of bear market territory.

Mining giant BHP jumped 3.3 per cent to $50.12, while Rio Tinto advanced 1.6 per cent after securing $2 billion in government subsidies to keep its Boyne aluminium smelter online.

Resurgent gold miners also lifted the segment, as the precious metal rose to $US4,559 ($A6,538) an ounce, boosting names like Newmont, Evolution and Northern Star up to 8.9 per cent.

Energy was the only sector deeply in the red, down 2.3 per cent as Brent crude oil prices eased from around $US114 a barrel to $US96 per barrel.

Oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos were sluggish as a result, along with coal miners, while uranium stocks rebounded from recent selling pressure.

Airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia benefiting from hopes of an end to flight disruptions in the Middle East, up four and 11.5 per cent respectively, with only Virgin offering direct flights to the region.

The heavyweight financials sector gained 1.3 per cent, tracking gains with three of the four big banks, as investors continued to exclude NAB, which is down almost a tenth since the same time last week.

In company news, 4D Medical value swelled by more than a third after it secured a deal with a US hospital group.

Alternative lender Pepper Money overcame an early wobble to end the session more than five per cent higher, after it knocked back a takeover offer from investment firm Challenger, which rose 3.7 per cent.

The Australian dollar is buying 69.71 US cents, up from 69.66 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.

Australia's February inflation print came in slightly lower than expected at 3.8 per cent over 12 months, still beyond the Reserve Bank's target range and crucially, pre-dating the gulf conflict price shock.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 gained 154.9 points, or 1.85 per cent, to 8,534.3

The broader All Ordinaries rose 174 points, or 2.03 per cent, to 8,745.3

The NZX 50 added 14.51 points (0.11%) to 12943.81

[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:

U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA lifted 0.7% to 46,429.49, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,591.90 and the Nasdaq gained 0.8% to 21,929.82.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Super Micro Computer Inc SMCI surging 8.28%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE jumped 7.93%, and Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD lifted 7.26%.

The biggest decliners were Verisk Analytics Inc VRSK which dropped 4.99%, Insulet Corp PODD fell 4.21%, and SanDisk Corp SNDK lost 3.49%.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 1.3% to 3,931.84 and the Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 2% to 2,584.26.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lifted 1.1% to 25,335.95.

Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 2.9% to 53,749.62.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX gained 1.6% to 75,273.45.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 1.4% to 10,106.84. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX gained 1.4% to 22,957.08, and the France's CAC 40 climbed 1.3% to 7,846.55