Greg Smith, investment specialist with Generate, said markets had been showing some fatigue over the Middle East conflict, and optimism crept back on Trump\u2019s latest social media posting.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe markets are still on a knife-edge about what is happening in the Middle East,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Across the Tasman, the S&P\/ASX 200 Index had risen 1.06% to 8595.50 points at 6pm NZ time.<\/p>\n
The Brent Crude oil price was down slightly to US$110.30 (NZ$188.36) a barrel.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smith said there was ongoing margin pressure with energy costs being the main driver. The farm expenses price index was up 1.7%.<\/p>\n
He said card spending in April decreased 1.3%, reversing the March rise, and all the major retail categories were weak.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis presents a challenge for the Reserve Bank when it meets next week,\u201d Smith said. \u201cRetail spending and consumer sentiment are looking weaker, and producer output and input prices are increasing \u2013 it\u2019s a question of how the bank balances these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local stocks<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
At May 17, South Island controlled hydro storage was 107% of mean and North Island 179%.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith two months remaining in the 2026 financial year, Contact should top $1 billion in operating earnings (ebitda).<\/p>\n
\u201dHeartland 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Wine exporter Delegat Group, down 11c or 2.96% to $3.60, told the market its latest harvest delivered excellent grape quality<\/a> across Marlborough, Hawke\u2019s Bay and Barossa Valley in Australia, with a managed reduction of 19% to 38,255 tonnes compared with last year\u2019s 47,461 tonnes.<\/p>\n Delegat said the consecutive vintages have normalised inventory holdings and support the group\u2019s sales projections.<\/p>\n AoFrio, unchanged at 7.4c, has made a placement of 65.1m shares<\/a> to Wairahi Investments at 7c a share, raising $4.5m as part of a staged approach to securing additional growth capital.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n