New Zealand shares closed higher on Wednesday despite a Tuesday sell-off on Wall Street and rising geopolitical tensions between Iran and the US.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.7% or 101.66 points to close at 13,757.71.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 lost 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% and the Dow Jones ended 0.8% lower.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Iranians to continue their protests, saying assistance was help is on the way, as Iran's clerical leadership intensified its crackdown on the largest demonstrations seen in years, according to a Tuesday Reuters report.

In domestic news, the number of new homes consented in New Zealand rose 7% in the year ended November 2025, helped by strong demand for multi-unit housing, Stats NZ said.

Also, the seasonally adjusted number of filled jobs across New Zealand industries edged up 0.3% month on month to 2.4 million in November 2025, following a 0.1% decline in the previous month, data from Stats NZ showed.

In corporate news, Bankers Investment Trust's (NZE:BIT) unaudited net asset value per share was 1.441 pounds sterling apiece as of Jan. 12.

Henderson Far East Income's (NZE:HFL) unaudited net asset value, including current financial year revenue items, was 2.363 pounds sterling per share as of Jan. 12.