Kiwi shares rose Monday as investors entered a busy week marked by the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting and the release of New Zealand's gross domestic product numbers for the third quarter.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 0.3%, or 43.38 points, to close at 12,797.64.

All eyes are on the Fed's policy meeting on Dec. 17 and 18, with markets widely expecting another rate cut. In New Zealand, third-quarter GDP data is due Thursday, with a consensus estimate of a 0.4% quarterly decline. This is the last piece of key macroeconomic data before the expected holiday lull next week.

In other domestic news, the Business NZ Performance of Services Index rose to 49.5 in November from 46.2 in October, marking its highest since February.

New Zealand food prices went up 1.3% year on year in November, following a 1.2% increase in October, Stats NZ data showed. Rents rose 4.1%, while petrol prices went down over 10%.

In corporate news, Contact Energy's (NZE:CEN, ASX:CEN) retail mass market electricity sales fell to 248 gigawatt hours (GWh) in November from 251 GWh in the same period in 2023. Wholesale electricity sales to businesses increased to 274 GWh from 261 GWh. The power company's shares were little changed.

Meridian Energy's (ASX:MEZ, NZE:MEL) retail sales volumes rose 1.8% year on year to 805 gigawatt hours in November. Meridian lost over 1% at market close.

Auckland International Airport's (NZE:AIA, ASX:AIA) total passenger movements rose 3% in November to more than 1.6 million passengers. The airport operator's shares shed 2%.