The New Zealand share market was up 38 points to 3374 at the close on Monday on turnover of $67 million, buoyed by the US government's decision to bail out two troubled mortgage institutions.
The United States government placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which underpin trillions of dollars of home loans, in a "conservatorship" to help avert further damage to the financial system from the US housing slump.
At 5.20pm, New Zealand heavyweight shares Fletcher Building rose 14 cents to close at $7.69, Contact Energy was up 35c to $8.71 and Telecom was unchanged at $3.15.
PGG Wrightson slid 17c to $2.55 after shareholders approved its plans to pay $220 million for a 50% financial stake in meat company Silver Fern Farms.
The Warehouse was up 1c to $3.23 ahead of its annual results release on Friday.
Air New Zealand rose 1c to $1.15 after announcing it will reduce trans-Tasman fares by 15%.
The Australian share market made its biggest one-day gain in nearly six months on Monday, as the major banks surged after the announcement the US government is to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
At the 1615 AEST close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 had surged 190.4 points, or 3.9%, to 5067.5. The broader All Ordinaries strengthened 176.8 points, or 3.57%, to 5126.3.
The September share price index futures contract was up 217 points to 5091 on volume of 36,533 contracts.
The price of gold in Sydney at 1627 AEST was $US813.80 per fine ounce, up $US15.50 on Friday's close of $US798.30.
In Japan, share prices closed up 3.38% on Monday as the US federal takeover of key ailing mortgage giants eased fears of a global liquidity crunch, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index surged 412.23 points to close at 12,624.46.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares jumped 45.57 points or 3.89% to 1,216.41.
