The April ANZ Truckometer showed the Light Traffic Index was down 1.7% (up 2.4% for the year), and Heavy Traffic declined 1.2% (up 2.4% year on year).<\/p>\n
ANZ said light traffic (motorbikes, cars and vans) was generally a good indicator<\/a> of demand and typically provides up to a six-month lead on economic momentum.<\/p>\n \u201cLight traffic has dropped markedly in the last couple of months, likely reflecting people choosing to drive less as a result of higher fuel prices.\u201d<\/p>\n In another report, ANZ said the Budget on May 28 would not be easy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe oil supply shocks put policy makers between a rock and a hard place \u2013 choose between containing the medium-term inflation implications or containing the fallout in activity and employment. In aggregate, you can\u2019t do both.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile tax increases appear unlikely, some degree of spending restraint remains a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n ANZ said households and businesses faced significant uncertainty and balance\u2011sheet pressure, but the Government needed to be selective in its support if it was to avoid exacerbating the inflation pain and pushing fiscal settings further towards unsustainable territory.<\/p>\n Ceasefire on brink<\/p>\n In the US, President Donald Trump warned the ceasefire in the Middle East conflict was on \u201clife support\u201d after rejecting the latest counteroffer from Iran, which said its military stood ready to respond to any act of aggression.<\/p>\n Brent Crude oil was steady at US$105.10 ($176.47) a barrel.<\/p>\n Wall Street remained reasonably positive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.19% to 49,704.47 points; the S&P 500 also gained 0.19% to a new high of 7,412.84; and the Nasdaq Composite was steady at 26,274.12.<\/p>\n Rocket Lab reached a new peak, increasing 11.18% to US$117.35 after touching US$123.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, the S&P\/ASX 200 Index was down 0.31% to 8674.40 points (at 6pm NZ time) while it waited for the Federal Budget that was expected to reveal new investment tax rules on housing.<\/p>\n Local stocks<\/p>\n At home, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell to its lowest level in more than a year after declining $1.02 or 2.89% to $34.28 on trade worth $23.04m, and Infratil shed 35c or 2.23% to $15.38 on trade worth $24.06m.<\/p>\n Infant milk supplier a2 Milk declined 35c or 4.35% to $7.70 after Australian broker Bell Potter trimmed its target price to A$6.75 ($8.19).<\/p>\n Ebos Group was near a seven-year low after falling 40c or 1.88% to $20.85; Chorus decreased 17c to $10.08; and ANZ Bank declined 80c or 1.84% to $42.70.<\/p>\n In the energy sector, Meridian was down 5c to $5.80; Contact shed 17c or 1.73% to $9.63; and Mercury was up 5c to $6.90.<\/p>\n SkyCity hit an all-time low after a further fall of 2.5c or 3.97% to 60.5c; Heartland Group shed 2.5c or 2.2% to $1.11; and Blackpearl Group was down 1.5c or 2.;04% to 72c.<\/p>\n In the property sector, Stride decreased 2c or 2.19% to $1.11, and Kiwi was up 2.5c or 2.65% to 97c.<\/p>\n Property for Industry, up 4c to $2.38, upgraded its full-year 2026 guidance of 9.5c a share<\/a> in cash dividends, a 10.5% increase on its previous year\u2019s dividends.<\/p>\n Freightways gained 10c to $13; Vulcan Steel increased 22c or 3.52% to $6.47; and Hallenstein Glasson was up 15c to $10.45. AoFrio, which supplies energy-efficient motors to the food and beverage industry, increased 0.008c or 11.43% to 7.8c, and miner Manuka Resources was up 0.004c or 3.77% to 11c.<\/p>\n M\u0101nuka honey supplier Comvita was up 4c or 5.63% to 75c after completing its $40.5m capital raise<\/a>, enabling the company to repay existing bank loans and activate its refinancing package.<\/p>\n More than half of the money was raised when 69% of shareholders exercised their rights under the rights offer. Fraser and Neave took up the shortfall of 12.8 million shares worth $8.3m, as well as accepted a placement of 13.2 million shares at 80c a share to maintain its 19.9% shareholding in Comvita.<\/p>\n New Talisman Gold Mines, down 0.002c or 13.33% to 1.3c, reported that ongoing geological modelling has confirmed under-explored areas and identified multiple mineralised structures, reinforcing the exploration potential of the Talisman project.<\/p>\n