Financial Wire

New Zealand Shares Flat Despite Middle East Ceasefire Doubts; Santana Minerals Completes AU$130 Million Share Placement

New Zealand shares were flat with a positive bias on Thursday, while most Asian markets saw losses after an Israeli attack on Lebanon raised doubts around US-Iran ceasefire talks.The S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed to close at 13,273.81.Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday that the US already violated key elements of a proposed 10-point framework for talks, adding that a ceasefire or negotiations now look "unreasonable."In domestic news, the Light Traffic Index in New Zealand fell 2.4% in March, but it was 3.6% higher than a year earlier, said ANZ Research.Further, New Zealand national average home values in March reached NZ$909,572, nearly 22% higher than they were during the lockdown six years ago, according to the QV House Price IndexAlso, New Zealand's total new lending increased to NZ$11.05 billion in February from NZ$10.95 billion in January, according to data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.In corporate news, Santana Minerals (NZE:SMI, ASX:SMI) completed its AU$130 million placement after issuing 18.9 million new shares to raise a further AU$17 millionAmpol (ASX:ALD, NZE:ALD) and Viva Energy (ASX:VEA) have signed new agreements to bring more fuel shipments into Australia.

-- New Zealand shares were flat with a positive bias on Thursday, while most Asian markets saw losses after an Israeli attack on Lebanon raised doubts around US-Iran ceasefire talks.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed to close at 13,273.81.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday that the US already violated key elements of a proposed 10-point framework for talks, adding that a ceasefire or negotiations now look "unreasonable."

In domestic news, the Light Traffic Index in New Zealand fell 2.4% in March, but it was 3.6% higher than a year earlier, said ANZ Research.

Further, New Zealand national average home values in March reached NZ$909,572, nearly 22% higher than they were during the lockdown six years ago, according to the QV House Price Index

Also, New Zealand's total new lending increased to NZ$11.05 billion in February from NZ$10.95 billion in January, according to data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

In corporate news, Santana Minerals (NZE:SMI, ASX:SMI) completed its AU$130 million placement after issuing 18.9 million new shares to raise a further AU$17 million

Ampol (ASX:ALD, NZE:ALD) and Viva Energy (ASX:VEA) have signed new agreements to bring more fuel shipments into Australia.