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New Zealand Shares Rise; Contact Energy Chair to Retire

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-- New Zealand shares ended higher on Friday as most Asian shares saw gains after a Thursday Wall Street rally.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 1.05% or 135.89 points to close at 13,039.20.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9%, the S&P rose 1%, and the Dow Jones climbed 1.6%.

Wall Street gains were helped by tech giant Apple's earnings as the iPhone-maker reported fiscal second-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates, with iPhone revenue coming in stronger than expected.

In domestic news, Consumer confidence in New Zealand fell to its lowest in roughly three years in April, as a looming oil shock raised concerns about the broader economic outlook and downside risk for retailers, ANZ said.

Further, home values across New Zealand extended a third consecutive monthly rise in April, in a slight surprise, edging up 0.1%, despite a soft start to the year for sales volumes and the Middle East conflict weighing on global economies, property valuation firm Cotality said

Also, New Zealand's seasonally adjusted new dwellings consents fell 1.3% to 3,370 in March from 3,412 in the previous month, according to Stats NZ data.

Meanwhile, New listings up 7.3% year-on-year to 9,139 in April in New Zealand, according to data from realstate.co.nz.

In corporate news, Contact Energy (ASX:CEN, NZE:CEN) said Chair Rob McDonald will retire at the conclusion of the upcoming annual shareholder meeting.

KMD Brands (ASX:KMD, NZE:KMD) appointed Non-Executive Director Philip Bowman as chair, effective Friday, succeeding David Kirk.

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