Maas Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: MGH) said data centre company Firmus will make an additional A$300 million equity investment and has awarded A$855 million in new contracts. The deals lift work-in-hand at its wholly owned electrical infrastructure unit, JLE Group, to A$1.2 billion scheduled for delivery over the next 18 months. Maas Group also raised its full-year underlying EBITDA guidance to A$300–A$310 million from A$250–A$280 million. Shares rose 8.1% to A$5.36.

Several India-listed companies posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, led by Great Eastern Shipping, where profit nearly doubled and the stock rose 3.5%. Restaurant Brands Asia climbed 6.2% after reporting strong same-store sales. IREDA reported net profit up 36.8% year on year to ₹3.38 billion, while GPT Healthcare posted a 65.7% increase in net profit. The results point to improving earnings momentum and acted as positive catalysts for the respective stocks.

Texmaco Rail and Engineering reported June-quarter results with net profit up 66.8% year on year to ₹50 crore, while revenue fell 16.9% to ₹757 crore. EBITDA declined 19.6% to ₹57 crore, and the EBITDA margin was unchanged at 8%. The company also received orders from South Western Railway worth ₹0.74 crore and from Central Warehousing Corporation worth ₹70.72 crores to manufacture and supply BLSS rakes along with a Brake Van.

China’s A-share market saw a sharp deleveraging in July, with the combined margin-financing balance falling from a June 25 peak of 3.01 trillion yuan to 2.59 trillion yuan by the end of the month, a drop of 14%. Most of the pullback was concentrated in individual tech-board stocks such as those on the STAR Market and ChiNext. The retreat helped drive the tech-heavy Star Market 50 Index down 26% for the month, its worst monthly performance on record. Analysts said the move was mainly driven by leveraged investors closing positions rather than deteriorating fundamentals, and was catalyzed by swings in overseas AI-related stocks.

Rising US-Iran tensions have strained energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, tightening global crude supply. ExxonMobil posted second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $6.06, or $12bn, while Valero Energy reported a record-high second-quarter net profit of $3.7bn. The average US gasoline price climbed to $4.09 a gallon, up 27 cents from January. The developments have directly pushed oil prices higher and boosted performance in refining-linked traditional assets.

SF Intracity (9699.HK) issued a positive profit alert for the first half of 2026, forecasting profit attributable to owners of no less than RMB301 million, up at least 120% year on year. It also expects adjusted net profit of no less than RMB240 million, an increase of no less than 50%, and revenue of no less than RMB11,669 million, up at least 14%. The forecast falls under statutory disclosure requirements for Hong Kong-listed companies and directly reflects an improvement in the company’s fundamentals.

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is developing a 1.75 million tonnes petroleum storage facility at Mangaluru, with half of the capacity set aside for strategic reserves and the rest for commercial operations. Separately, three investors in Paytm parent One 97 Communications plan to sell shares worth up to Rs 2,002 crore at a 5% discount in a deal structured as a 100% secondary sale, meaning the company will not receive proceeds. LIC, Airtel and BSE were also among stocks on investors’ radar amid a broader market rise.

Vedanta Aluminium will turn ex-dividend on August 5 for its first interim dividend of Rs 8 per share. For the April–June quarter, the company posted a 216% year-on-year jump in net profit to Rs 5,629 crore. Revenue from operations rose 46% to Rs 21,393 crore, while EBITDA climbed 134% to Rs 10,499 crore and the EBITDA margin improved to 50%.