New Zealand shares ended higher on Thursday, trading close to their recently acheived all time highs while investors remained cautious after renewed US-Iran tensions.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.88% or 120.49 points to close at 13,785.67.

The US military said on Wednesday it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, prompting Iranian retaliatory attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in an escalation that threatens to derail efforts to end the conflict, according to a Wednesday Reuters report.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% on close, the S&P 500 lost 0.3%, and the Dow Jones decreased 1.1%.

In domestic news, New Zealand's manufacturing sector expanded in June, reaching its strongest reading since the rebound in July 2021 following the pandemic, as positive sentiment returned for the first time in recent months, BusinessNZ said.

Also, the Light Traffic Index in New Zealand in June fell 0.5% sequentially and 0.4% year over year due to higher fuel prices, ANZ Research said in a report.

Further, borrowing costs in New Zealand are poised to rise further as the country's central bank will likely follow its first rate hike in three years with a sequence of 25-basis-point increases, BNZ Research said.

In corporate news, New Zealand Rural Land (NZE:NZL) suspended its 2026 earnings guidance after Kiwi Crunch Farms, a tenant accounting for 5.8% of rental income in its 75%-owned land partnership, entered voluntary administration and receivership.