New Zealand shares rose Thursday as investors parsed the latest round of corporate earnings, while Asian peers tracked a mixed session on Wall Street amid confusion over the timing of US tariffs.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was up 0.7%, or 88.41 points, to close at 12,540.87.

Consumer durables and miscellaneous led the increase, with gains of 3.9% and 3.6%, respectively.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.1%, while the Shanghai SSE fell 0.4%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat.

Wall Street traded mixed overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4%, and the S&P 500 virtually flat.

During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said a 25% tariff on the European Union will be announced "very soon," targeting "cars and all other things," BBC News reported.

Meanwhile, conflicting timelines have emerged regarding the implementation of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Trump said during the same meeting that the tariffs would take effect on April 2. Meanwhile, a White House official later said that the March 4 deadline remains.

In domestic news, the business confidence index grew to 58.4 in February from 54.4 in January, according to a monthly survey by ANZ Research.

New Zealand's total lending fell to NZ$5.13 billion in January from NZ$8.11 billion in December 2024, per Reserve Bank data.

In corporate news, Heartland Group Holdings (ASX:HGH, NZE:HGH) fell past 2% after it reported earnings per diluted share of NZ$0.004 in the fiscal first half, down from NZ$0.053 per diluted share a year earlier.

Channel Infrastructure NZ (NZE:CHI) finished 1% lower after it reported that its earnings per diluted share in 2024 fell to NZ$0.037, from NZ$0.064 a year earlier.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand (ASX:RBD, NZE:RBD) lost 6% even as it reported higher fiscal 2024 earnings of NZ$0.2126 per diluted share. The company did not issue a fiscal 2025 guidance due to "ongoing economic volatility in the markets."