New Zealand shares closed flat with a positive bias on Tuesday amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, where some countries have rebuffed the US request to provide help in the oil crisis related to the Strait of Hormuz.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed to close at 13,182.23.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to increase the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.1%, according to a Monday statement by the central bank.

US President Donald Trump accused some US allies of ingratitude after several countries rebuffed his request to deploy warships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran continued targeting oil facilities in the Gulf, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1% on Monday's close, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2%, and the Dow inched up 0.8%.

"The rally still has the feel of a ⁠positioning squeeze rather than the start of a new directional trend. I ​remain reluctant to buy dips at this stage," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne, as quoted by Reuters.

In domestic news, overall consumer prices in New Zealand will likely rise by 0.6% in the March quarter, which will result in annual inflation of 2.8% in the year to March, according to a note from Westpac.

Also, food prices in New Zealand rose 4.5% year on year in February, as higher meat prices hurt consumer spending, with beef mince registering a record price growth, Stats NZ said.

In corporate news, My Food Bag Group (NZE:MFB) showed stronger momentum in the fiscal second half, with fiscal 2026 revenue projected to rise 4.9% from a year earlier, and second-half sales increasing 6% over the first half.

Mercury NZ (NZE:MCY) opened the new fifth-generation expansion unit at its Ngā Tamariki Geothermal Station near Taupō, New Zealand, lifting the station's annual average generation output to about 1,120 gigawatt-hours.