Stocks in the United States chalked up their best weekly gains in a year last week, as investors anticipated the second quarter corporate earnings season, which begins on Monday.
The Dow Jones Index rose 59 points on Friday, to finish the week at 10,198.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 21 points, to close at 2,196.
European shares rose on Friday, also posting their biggest weekly rise in a year, as worries about the global economy and bank stress tests moved to the back burner.
The FTSE 100 index in London, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC-40 in Paris all rose 0.5%.
The Australian 200 Index rose 39 points to close at 4396
The NZX 50 rose 21 points to close at 3005 on turnover of $64 million.
At 8.20am on Monday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 71.02 US cents, 81.09 Australian cents, 47.17 pence, 63.12 yen and 0.5631 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 67.52.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US75.84 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1211.85 per ounce.
