-- New Zealand shares ended higher on Monday as most Asian indexes saw gains amid hopes of an easing US-Iran war.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.45% or 58.48 points to close at 13,097.68.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that the US would begin efforts Monday morning to help free ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the move as a humanitarian step to assist neutral countries amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to a Sunday Reuters report.
In corporate news, a2 Milk Co. (ASX:A2M, NZE:ATM) started a voluntary recall on May 1 of three batches of its a2 Platinum USA infant milk formula, following the detection of cereulide in product manufactured by Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1, NZE:SML).
Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ, NZE:AIR) group capacity rose 4.1% year on year in March, and long-haul available seat kilometers (ASKs) rose 2.5%, while domestic ASKs increased by 3.4%.