Asia
New Zealand Shares Rise; Briscoe Group's Fiscal Q2 Sales Increase
New Zealand shares ended higher on Monday amid hopes of renewed peace talks between the US and Iran.The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.55% or 75.65 points to close at 13,774.93.US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran would take place on Monday but declined to set a deadline for a deal, after pulling back from an imminent military strike in hopes of quickly reaching an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, according to a Monday Reuters report.On the domestic front, the volume of new homes consented in New Zealand hit 40,581 in the year ended June, up 19% from the previous year and exceeding the 40,000 mark for the first time since 2023, according to data by Stats NZ.Further, New Zealand's home value index fell 0.3% in July following a decline of the same magnitude in the previous month, continuing a subdued trend observed during the first six months of the year, Cotality said in an Aug. 1 report.Also, a drop in diesel prices helped keep construction cost growth in check in New Zealand in July, QV said in a report.In corporate news, Briscoe Group (ASX:BGP, NZE:BGP) reported fiscal second-quarter sales of NZ$193.4 million, up slightly from NZ$192.9 million a year earlier and representing a third consecutive quarter of positive sales growth.Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC) completed the sale of the RAMS home loan portfolio, around AU$15.4 billion at completion, to a consortium consisting of Pepper Money (ASX:PPM), credit funds and accounts managed by KKR, and PIMCO managed funds.
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