Paul Robertshawe, chief investment officer with Octagon Asset Management, said investors were watching the developments very cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome days I feel good that the US will find an off-ramp, and other days not so good with the threat of sending more troops and blocking ships.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestors are hiding out in the defensive stocks, and value is appearing in other shares. There are lots of things that investors want to do, but it\u2019s not prudent to do it just yet,\u201d Robertshawe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the conflict ends quickly in the next three to four weeks, company earnings will be hit in the June reporting season, but the market will look through this and react positively to the near-term resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
US stocks rose after US President Donald Trump said Iran still wanted to make a deal following a deadlock in negotiations last weekend. \u201cWe\u2019ve been called by the other side \u2026 they\u2019d like to make a deal very badly,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The blockade of the Hormuz Strait has been imposed, but the US says it will not block ships using the strait to reach non-Iranian ports.<\/p>\n
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.63% to 48,218.25 points; the S&P 500 increased 1.02% to 6,886.24; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.23% to 23,183.74.<\/p>\n
Global investment manager BlackRock raised its outlook for US equities, saying that a \u201ccontained\u201d macro impact from the Middle East war, as well as solid corporate earnings, could create a fertile ground for future gains.<\/p>\n
Across the Tasman, the S&P\/ASX 200 Index was up 0.63% to 8982.4 points at 6pm NZ time, and the Japanese Nikkei 225 had increased 2.28%.T<\/p>\n
he Brent Crude oil price fell below US$100 (NZ$170.23) a barrel, trading at US$98.57.<\/p>\n
Local stocks<\/p>\n
At home, Chorus was down 20c or 2.08% to $9.41; Mainfreight decreased 44c to $58.20; Gentrack shed 13c or 2.05% to $6.22; and South Port NZ declined 29c or 3.52% to $7.96.<\/p>\n
A2 Milk was down a further 27c, or 2.75%, to $9.55 after downgrading its full-year earnings guidance due to supply chain issues that have resulted in constrained stock levels for sale in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Other decliners were Westpac, down $1.19 or 2.32% to $50.15; Foley Wines, falling 3c or 5.56% to 51c; and Third Age Health, decreasing 9c or 1.86% to $4.75.<\/p>\n
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 23c to $38.05; Fonterra Shareholders\u2019 Fund increased 23c or 3.74% to $6.38; Skellerup gained 11c or 1.98% to $5.66; Turners Automotive added 14c to $8.65; and Argosy Property improved 2c or 1.79% to $1.14.<\/p>\n
Green Cross Health, owner of Unichem and Life Pharmacies, rose 26c, or 20.97%, to $1.50 after confirming it is in discussions about selling its medical division<\/a>, The Doctors. The interested party is understood to be Sydney-based Adamantem Capital.<\/p>\n Scales Corp increased 16c or 2.74% to $6 after confirming its full-year net profit guidance of $50m-$55m at its annual meeting.<\/p>\n Scales said the global proteins division was performing strongly, and picking and packing for the latest apple season was well advanced, with an expected crop of 3.5m tray cartons.<\/p>\n Robertshawe was surprised Scales didn\u2019t upgrade its guidance. \u201cFrom what we\u2019ve been hearing, the apple season is shaping up to be as good as last year\u2019s \u2013 and that was a cracker.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Hill increased 3c, or 6.82%, to 47c after telling the market, during an investor day, that group sales were up 3.8%<\/a> in the third quarter of the 2026 financial year and continued to build on the momentum from the first half.<\/p>\n Technology stocks Vista Group increased 12c or 6.8% to $1.88; Serko was up 5.5c or 3.06% to $1.85; and Blackpearl Group gained 2c or 2.6% to 79c.<\/p>\n Retirement stocks Oceania Healthcare increased 4.5c or 6.47% to 74c; and Ryman Healthcare was up 4c or 1.97% to $2.07.<\/p>\n Tourism Holdings rebounded 12c or 5.74% to $2.21; Sky TV was up 13c or 4.25% to $3.19; Napier Port increased 13c or 3.68% to $3.66; and NZME added 2.5c or 2.34% to $1.09.<\/p>\n Winton Land, down 1c to $1.79, has received fast-track approval to develop the Ayrburn Screen Hub near Arrowtown, which will include studio buildings and 201 units for film workers and visitors.<\/p>\n