Overall Saudi construction activity expanded for a third straight month in July, though the pace of growth slowed as non-residential building lost momentum, Alrajhi Capital and S&P Global said Thursday.
The headline seasonally adjusted Alrajhi Capital Saudi Construction Index came in at 55.2, down from 56.3 in June.
The reading marked the second-highest expansion since the survey began in January, with infrastructure activity growing at the quickest pace in 2026 so far.
Indonesia's economy grew 5.29% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to data released by Statistics Indonesia on Wednesday.The growth beat the 5.1% median forecast in a Reuters poll.On the production side, the electricity and gas supply sector recorded the highest growth in Q2 at 10.81%, the report showed.In terms of expenditure, the government consumption expenditure component recorded the highest growth at 15.97%.On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Indonesia's economy grew 3.73%, with the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector posting the highest growth at 12.26%.
Kusuri No Aoki's (TYO:3549) all-store sales increased by 9.6%, while existing-store sales added 0.3% in July from a year earlier.The drug store chain's all-store customer traffic climbed 8% while that in existing stores fell 1.9%, according to its Tokyo bourse filing on Wednesday.Average customer spending was up 1.5% across all stores, while that in existing stores was up 2.3%, the release said.Shares of Kusuri No Aoki added nearly 1% in recent trade.
The total number of dwelling units approved in Australia recorded a 7.2% month-on-month increase to 18,328 in June in seasonally adjusted terms after falling 1.6% in May, according to a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday.Total dwelling units approved grew 8.9% on last year's 16,827, the report said.Approvals for total dwellings varied, rising in Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia in June, but falling in Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia.Meanwhile, the number of private sector house approvals rose 0.4% to 10,631 in June after rising 2.4% in May, and private sector dwellings, excluding house approvals, increased by about 18% to 7,138 following an 11% fall last month.The value of total building work approved fell 5.5% to AU$20 billion after a more than 12% rise in May, with the value of total residential building rising past 15% to AU$11.75 billion and the value of total non-residential building falling almost 25% to AU$8.26 billion.