The NZX 50 added 48 points, or 0.4%, to close at 12,977 on Thursday, extending the previous session’s advance as Wall Street gained on Wednesday. Sentiment was buoyed by renewed optimism over a potential de-escalation of the Iran conflict. Risk appetite also improved following news that U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Beijing on May 14–15 for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping—rescheduled from March 31—against a backdrop of Middle East tensions and ongoing trade frictions.
Sector gains were led by transport, industrial services, consumer non-durables, and retail trade ahead of the release of March business and consumer confidence data in New Zealand. However, weakness in consumer durables, producer manufacturing, and energy minerals limited the overall advance.
Among notable movers, Mainfreight Ltd. climbed 6.4%, Hallenstein Glasson Holdings rose 2.7%, Delegat Group advanced 2.1%, and Mercury NZ gained 2.0%. In contrast, Synlait Milk fell 1% after losing its largest customer, a2 Milk Co., pointing to softer first-half results.