Greg Smith, investment specialist with Generate, said markets had been showing some fatigue over the Middle East conflict, and optimism crept back on Trump’s latest social media posting.
Trump said the attacks on Iran were postponed at the request of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, and that serious negotiations were now taking place.
“The markets are still on a knife-edge about what is happening in the Middle East,” Smith said.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.31% to 49,686.12 points; the S&P 500 was steady at 7,403.05; and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.51% to 26,090.73.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 1.06% to 8595.50 points at 6pm NZ time.
The Brent Crude oil price was down slightly to US$110.30 (NZ$188.36) a barrel.
At home, the Producers Price Index for the March quarter showed outputs (prices received for goods and services) increased 0.8% and inputs (prices paid by producers) rose 1.4% compared with the December quarter.
Smith said there was ongoing margin pressure with energy costs being the main driver. The farm expenses price index was up 1.7%.
He said card spending in April decreased 1.3%, reversing the March rise, and all the major retail categories were weak.
“This presents a challenge for the Reserve Bank when it meets next week,” Smith said. “Retail spending and consumer sentiment are looking weaker, and producer output and input prices are increasing – it’s a question of how the bank balances these things.”
Local stocks
Gentrack rebounded 30c or 7.59% to $4.25 following its half-year financial result; Chorus was up 17c or 1.7% to $10.16; Spark gained 3c to $2.02; Summerset increased 30c or 4.17% to $7.50; and Freightways added 34c or 2.66% to $13.14.
Fletcher Building gained 7c or 2.37% to $3.02; Infratil collected 14c to $5.26; Skellerup Holdings was up 14c or 2.4% to $5.98; Channel Infrastructure added 17c or 5.35% to $3.35; and Mercury Energy increased 12c or 1.7% to $7.16.
Contact Energy was up 26c or 5.35% to $9.98 after reporting increased mass market electricity and gas sales in April of 372GWh, up from 284GWh in the same month last year.
At May 17, South Island controlled hydro storage was 107% of mean and North Island 179%.
Smith said the lakes were full, prices were strong, electricity demand was up 3.6% in April, and Contact was on track to hit its guidance.
“With two months remaining in the 2026 financial year, Contact should top $1 billion in operating earnings (ebitda).
”Heartland Group increased 4.5c or 4.41% to $1.06; Kiwi Property was up 2c or 2.2% to 93c after its annual result; and Pacific Edge added another 2c or 7.14% to 30c.
South Port NZ collected 21c or 2.44% to $8.82; Eroad was up 4c or 4.21% to 99c; and Michael Hill edged ahead 1c or 2.53% to 40.5c.
Sanford was down 18c or 2.3% to $7.64; Vista Group lost 3.5c or 1.72% to $1.99; Comvita declined 3c or 4.11% to 70c; Tourism Holdings decreased 5c or 2.27% to $2.15; 2 Cheap Cars shed 1.5c or 2.34% to 62.5c; and Santana Minerals dropped 2c or 2.63% to 74c.
Wine exporter Delegat Group, down 11c or 2.96% to $3.60, told the market its latest harvest delivered excellent grape quality across Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Barossa Valley in Australia, with a managed reduction of 19% to 38,255 tonnes compared with last year’s 47,461 tonnes.
Delegat said the consecutive vintages have normalised inventory holdings and support the group’s sales projections.
AoFrio, unchanged at 7.4c, has made a placement of 65.1m shares to Wairahi Investments at 7c a share, raising $4.5m as part of a staged approach to securing additional growth capital.
Advanced manufacturer Rakon, unchanged at $1.54, will be delisted from the NZX on May 27 after being taken over by California-based electronic company Bourns at $1.55 a share.
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