Asia
New Zealand Shares Rise; Infratil Unit Secures 555-Megawatt Contract
New Zealand shares ended higher on Wednesday as all Asian indexes rose amid rising hopes of peace between the US and Iran.The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.84% or 109.49 points to close at 13,145.19.US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would temporarily halt an operation escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing "great progress" in talks toward a broad agreement with Iran, according to a Tuesday Reuters report.Asian indexes were also helped by Tuesday's higher Wall Street close, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 1%, the S&P 500 gaining 0.8%, and the Dow Jones adding 0.7%.In domestic news, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand expects New Zealand's economic recovery to be slower due to the Middle East conflict, which is reducing business profits as higher oil prices cause businesses to invest less and households to save more, according to the central bank's financial stability report.Further, New Zealand's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.3% in the March quarter from 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, data from Stats NZ showed.Also, Data from New Zealand's labor market surveys is supportive of its forecast of a 0.8% rise in gross domestic product (GDP) for the March quarter, Westpac said.Finally, a total of 13,743 metric tonnes (MT) of products were sold during the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction held on Tuesday, with supply ranging from 13,068 to 17,289 MT, according to data from the trading platform.In corporate news, Infratil (ASX:IFT, NZE:IFT) said its CDC Data Centres business has signed a 30-year agreement with an unnamed US investment-grade client for 555 megawatts of capacity.Ventia Services Group (ASX:VNT, NZE:VNT) received notice that Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) and its affiliates became a substantial holder of the company on April 30.
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