New Zealand shares were flat Thursday, deviating from gains in Asia and the US following a tariff reprieve for automakers and hopes for stimulus from China in response to the trade war.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed to close at 12,428.84.

Distribution services equities were the biggest winners as they rose 2.9%. In contrast, consumer durables led stocks in the red, with a 3.9% decline.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.6% to reach a 52-week high, while the Shanghai SSE increased 1.1%. Hopes for more stimulus from China have emerged after Beijing announced its "around 5%" GDP growth target for 2025.

Macquarie analysts view the target as "Beijing's policy framework in response to the trade war," according to a Wednesday note.

"They will use stimulus to offset tariffs, so that China could grow at around 5% in 2025," the analysts said.

Wall Street rebounded overnight as the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose 1.1% each.

The Trump administration agreed to a one-month exemption from auto tariffs on Mexico and Canada at the request of American automakers Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, CNN reported on Wednesday.

Separately, the US is weighing the exclusion of certain Canadian and Mexican farm products from tariffs, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.

In domestic news, the seasonally adjusted total building volume declined 4.4% to NZ$7.38 billion in the December 2024 quarter, following a 3% decline in the prior three-month period, Stats NZ data showed Thursday.

Consumer spending through core retail merchants in Worldline New Zealand's payments network declined 4.8% year on year to NZ$3.67 billion in February, the local payments services provider reported Wednesday.

In company news, Property For Industry (NZE:PFI) set the interest rate for its NZ$150 million offer of 5.5-year senior secured fixed rate bonds at 5.43% per annum. The company was down 2% at market close.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZE:FPH, ASX:FPH) awarded a construction contract to Dominion Constructors for the fifth building on its East Tamaki campus in Auckland. Shares finished 1% lower.