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New Zealand Shares Rise Slightly; Contact Energy Posts Higher Retail Electricity, Gas Sales in July

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New Zealand shares ended slightly higher on Friday after Thursday's Wall Street rally, while a US-Iran peace deal remained elusive.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.21% or 29.08 points to close at 13,854.38.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Nasdaq gained 0.8%, while the Dow Jones was up 0.1%.

The US said on Thursday it could maintain its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and would intensify economic pressure on Tehran, as ceasefire talks stalled, global oil supply tightened, and regional tensions continued to rise, according to a Reuters report.

In domestic news, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) on Friday left loan-to-value ratio (LVR) settings unchanged in its annual review of macroprudential policy, noting that housing risks are currently contained.

Further, manufacturing in New Zealand continued to expand in July, although at a slower pace than in June, as broader sentiment remained negative, with concerns about the Middle East conflict and cost pressures holding back spending, BusinessNZ said.

Also, costs for supermarkets in New Zealand from grocery suppliers increased 1.9% in July from a year earlier, Infometrics said in a report.

In corporate news, Contact Energy's (ASX:CEN, NZE:CEN) retail mass-market electricity and gas sales increased year on year in July, alongside a rise in wholesale contracted electricity sales.

Meridian Energy's (ASX:MEZ, NZE:MEL) retail contracted sales volumes rose to 870 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in July from 850 GWh a year earlier.

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