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New Zealand shares closed higher on Wednesday as most Asian markets tracked gains from Wall Street despite the ongoing and intensified Middle East conflict.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 1% or 133.37 points to close at 13,315.60.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.25%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.47%, and the Dow Jones added 0.1%.
According to a Wednesday Reuters report, Iran has targeted Israel’s Tel Aviv with missiles in retaliation for the death of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani.
In domestic news, a total of 19,500 metric tonnes of products were sold during the Global Dairy Trade auction held on Tuesday, with supply ranging from 17,844 to 21,831 MT, according to data from the trading platform.
Further, New Zealand’s current account deficit widened to NZ$4.64 billion in the December 2025 quarter, from NZ$3.79 billion in the previous quarter, Stats NZ data showed.
Also, New Zealand consumer confidence experienced a 1.8 percentage point decline in March, taking it to 94.7 from 96.5 in December, according to the Westpac-McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence index.
Further, New Zealand’s residential property values largely remained flat over the summer, in contrast to robust buzz in the housing market amid a choppy outlook on interest rates and inflation, triggered by geopolitical tensions, QV said.
In corporate news, New Zealand Grocery Commissioner Pierre Heerden said he has put supermarkets on notice that they should not seek additional margin from rising costs linked to the Middle East conflict, and that any price increases should be reversed as soon as possible, according to a Wednesday RNZ report.
Contact Energy (ASX:CEN, NZE:CEN) said retail mass-market electricity and gas sales increased year on year in February, alongside a rise in wholesale contracted electricity sales.