New Zealand shares rose on Tuesday while most Asian indexes saw gains as tariff fears eased after Trump indicated some exemptions to his April 2 tariffs.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.46% or 56.3 points to close at 12,184.51.

US President Donald Trump said he may give "a lot of countries" breaks on tariffs but will soon impose tariffs on autos, pharmaceuticals, and aluminum.

Trump also intensified the ongoing trade war fears by imposing 25% secondary tariffs on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela.

At home, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand's South Island, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.

On the local macroeconomic front, the value of New Zealand's regional GDP grew to NZ$414.95 billion at current prices for the year ended March 31, from the revised NZ$393.52 billion in the year-earlier period, preliminary data from Stats NZ showed Tuesday.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's employment confidence declined in the March quarter in signs that labor conditions remained subdued and within the levels seen post-pandemic. The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index fell to 88.3 in the March quarter from 91.6 in the three months to December 2024.

In corporate news, Spark New Zealand (ASX:SPK, NZE:SPK) said BlackRock and its affiliates increased their interest in the company to 8.1% from 5.9%.

Solution Dynamics (NZE:SDL) will conduct an on-market share buyback of up to NZ$550,000 through the New Zealand's Exchange from time to time starting March 31, according to a Tuesday New Zealand bourse filing.