New Zealand shares rose on Thursday as part of a broad-based rise in Asian markets following a rally from Wall Street despite the developing Middle East Conflict.
The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.64% or 86.77 points to close at 13,617.89.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq gained 1.29%, and the Dow Jones added 0.49%.
"Geopolitical risk can flare up again very quickly, so any early gains we see this morning across Asia-Pacific region share markets may not last," Paco Chow, dealing manager at Moomoo Australia and New Zealand, as quoted by Reuters.
"The outlook will remain cautious until we see oil flows return to normal," Chow added.
In domestic news, New Zealand property values rose slightly by 0.2% in February, the strongest increase in four months, reversing a 0.1% decline in the prior month, property data provider Cotality said.
Also, New Zealand's building activity fell 3.1% in the December quarter, dampened by weakness in non-residential construction and rising prices, with Wellington and the rest of the North Island leading regional declines, Stats NZ said.
In corporate news, GPacific Edge (NZE:PEB, ASX:PEB) secured orders from Queensland's Townsville University Hospital for its Cxbladder Triage Plus test under a newly implemented nurse-led clinical pathway for hematuria assessment and non-muscle invasive bladder cancer surveillance.
F&C Investment Trust (NZE:FCT) said its net assets before charges at market value and excluding income came in at 13.6716 pounds sterling per ordinary share as of Tuesday.
