Kiwi bourse joins global rally as Fed poised to keep rates low; Air NZ falls again

The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 59.82 points, or 0.7 percent, to 8,985.34. Within the index, 28 stocks gained, 15 fell, and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $132.7 million.

Stocks across Asia followed Wall Street's lead after the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate unchanged and said it would be patient in raising them. At the same time, upbeat results from Apple, Boeing and Facebook helped ease fears that a slower Chinese economy would dent corporate earnings. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was up just 0.1 percent in afternoon trading, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.6 percent. Korea's Kospi 200 was up 0.2 percent.

Greg Smith, head of research at Fat Prophets, said investors had lower expectations for US company earnings and were surprised by the stronger results. The Fed's more subdued outlook for interest rate hikes also supported equity markets.

"Investors seem to be more optimistic given what's been going on," he said.