“What is different this time is that instead of Iran denying any talks were in progress, some of their counter-proposals were leaked. It showed some sign of progress and this was enough to set off a rally in the markets.”
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 ($172) a barrel, with Brent crude trading at US$99.51, a fall of 4.77%.
Goodson said S&P 500 Futures were pointing to a 0.6% rise, and New Zealand mirrored the rally in Australia, where commodity stocks had a sharp rally.
“Bond yields here were lower, and that’s good for the equity market,” he said.
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 February, down from 3.8% for the 12 months to January.
Electricity prices surged 37% in the year to February, up from 32.2% in January, and housing was still the biggest driver of annual inflation, rising 7.2% in the year to February, from 6.8% in January.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index was up 3.16% to 53,902.11 points at 6pm. Wall Street, however, had another down day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.18% to 46,124.06 points; the S&P 500 decreased 0.37% to 6556.37; and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.84% to 21,761.9.
At home, 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 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 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 300 million litres of storage currently in service at Marsden Point and an additional 350 million 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 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.
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