Investor confidence buoyed on US coy earnings; NZX rises

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 78.02 points, or 0.8 percent, to 9,846.35. Within the index, 29 stocks gained, 13 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $129 million.

Wall Street set a positive tone for Asia, with the S&P500 up 0.7 percent on Friday after a strong earnings report from JP Morgan, where chief executive Jamie Dimon talked up the economic outlook for the US. Disney's new streaming service plans and Chevron's US$33 billion takeover of Anadarko Petroleum bolstered investor confidence.

Stocks across Asia were mostly positive, with China's Shanghai Composite Index up 1.1 percent in afternoon trading, South Korea's Kospi 200 Index gaining 0.4 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.1 percent.

"With this lack of local news, we're being driven by what's happening in the US reporting season and we saw good numbers from JP Morgan and Disney," said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.