The economic recovery was continuing in the third quarter but it remained uneven, Breman said.<\/p>\n
An independent review of New Zealand\u2019s monetary policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic found that combined monetary and fiscal stimulus was \u201ctoo strong for too long\u201d.<\/p>\n
Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said the markets were heartened by a fall in the oil price and bond yields.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestors got excited about Meta\u2019s latest investment in Muse. A week ago, there were calls over safety concerns of artificial intelligence and now people are getting excited again. The development of Muse will help support demand for data centres, and benefit stocks like Infratil.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the US, the Nasdaq Composite hit a new high after rising 2.26% to 27,122.09 points on a resurgence in tech and semiconductor stocks.<\/p>\n
Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, rose 11.43% to US$741.24 ($1292.06) after its new personal artificial intelligence agent Muse became the most downloaded app on Apple\u2019s US App Store, overtaking ChatGPT.<\/p>\n
Advanced Micro Devices gained 9.95% to US$615.52 and Intel increased 12.14% to US$121.78 as AI enthusiasm returned to the markets.<\/p>\n
The S&P 500 gained 1.49% to 7764.7 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71% to 52,048.83 after the blue-chip index posted its third weekly loss.<\/p>\n
The oil price was lower, with Brent crude trading at US$101.1 a barrel. The US 10-year Treasury yield was down slightly to 4.956%.<\/p>\n
US Central Command said oil and LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz reached a six-month high over the past two weeks, attributing the improvement to naval protection and mine-clearance activity.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has reportedly proposed a US$5 billion investment fund<\/a> to help Gulf countries rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran conflict, and develop alternatives to shipping oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The proposal, reportedly under discussion with regional partners including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, would seek matching contributions to create a larger US$10b fund.<\/p>\n At home, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 43c to $44.98; Infratil was up 30c or 2.14% to $14.35; Port of Tauranga gained 12c to $8.11; Channel Infrastructure added 7c or 1.99% to $3.58; and Vulcan Steel increased 32c or 4.76% to $7.04.<\/p>\n The energy sector was mixed, with Meridian up 5c to $5.62; Mercury gaining 2c to $6.98; and Contact down 6c to $8.79. In the property sector, Kiwi increased 3c or 3.35% to 92.5c; Argosy was up 2.5c or 2.53% to $1.015; Stride gained 1.5c to $1.075; and Investore was down 2c or 1.94% to $1.01.<\/p>\n KMD Brands, owner of Kathmandu and Rip Curl, increased 13.5c or 7.16% to $2.02 on takeover speculation.<\/p>\n KMD is this week reporting its annual result, with the market expecting steady revenue of $1 billion, operating earnings (ebitda) of about $135m and a net loss of $4m-$9m, an improvement on the loss of more than $20m in the previous year.<\/p>\n Among fellow retailers, Briscoe Group was up 14c or 3.06% to $4.72; Hallenstein Glasson gained 20c to a new high of $13.10; and The Warehouse collected 2c or 3.33% to 62c.<\/p>\n Serko increased 6c or 4.84% to $1.30; Colonial Motor added 20c or 2.84% to $7.23; NZME rose 3.5c or 3.29% to $1.10; Tourism Holdings was up 5c or 1.79% to $2.85; and tech stock PaySauce rose 2c or 9.3% to 23.5c.<\/p>\n Metro Performance Glass was up 1.5c or 1.84% to 83c after holding its annual meeting.<\/p>\n Freightways was down 13c to $12.85; a2 Milk decreased 16c or 1.9% to $8.25; Synlait declined 2c or 5% to 38c; and NZ Rural Land declined 2c or 2.09% to 93.5c.<\/p>\n Medicinal cannabis company Rua Bioscience, unchanged at 3.2c, has launched a one-for-three rights issue<\/a> at 2.5c a share to raise up to $2.8m.<\/p>\n Rua told the market that revenue had increased to $2.9m compared with $1.9m in the 2025 financial year, and a new distribution agreement in the UK was expected to generate about $10m in revenue over the initial two-year term.<\/p>\n