New Zealand shares remained muted Thursday even while other Asian peers advanced as hopes for more US Federal Reserve rate cuts dimmed in the wake of strong inflation data.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed at 12,905.98.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively, while the Shanghai SSE was flat.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.5%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was muted.

US headline and core inflation both accelerated in January, further clouding hopes for rate cuts this year. ING Research said in a Feb. 12 note that the market is of the view the "Federal Reserve is going to find it challenging to justify rate cuts in the near future," particularly in the context of more tariffs. ING expects the next rate cut in September.

In domestic news, expectations for one-year-ahead annual inflation increased to 2.15% from 2.05%, according to a survey by the Reserve Bank published Thursday. Two-year ahead inflation expectations fell to 2.06% from 2.12%.

Retail spending via electronic cards fell 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis to NZ$6.51 billion in January following a 2.4% monthly increase in December 2024, per Stats NZ data.

Elsewhere, spending on ANZ-issued cards fell 0.9% on an annual basis in January following a 0.6% drop in December, ANZ Research reported Thursday.

In company news, Contact Energy (NZE:CEN, ASX:CEN) signed a 10-year agreement with Fonterra Co-Operative Group (NZE:FCG) to supply 415 gigawatt hours of electricity a year to its Whareroa dairy site. The energy retailer's shares edged up 0.4%.

Foley Wines (NZE:FWL) Chief Executive Mark Turnbull resigned, effective April 30.