Stocks in the United States have posted their sixth consecutive day of gains, though concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims limited the market's advance.
The Dow Jones Index closed up 21 points, or 0.2%, at 11,144 on Thursday.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2516.
In Europe: the FTSE 100 index in London rose 0.5%, the DAX in Frankfurt gained 0.2% and the CAC-40 in France was up 0.2%.
The Australian 200 Index closed up 7 points, or 0.15%, points, at 5002 on Thursday.
The NZX 50 closed down 14 points, or 0.4%, at 3321 on turnover of $62 million.
At 8.20am, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 71.08 US cents, 76.16 Australian cents, 45.89 pence, 66.17 yen and 0.5241 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 65.66.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US86.94 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1158.55 per ounce.
