Stocks in the United States advanced on Monday to their highest levels in five weeks, on upbeat Chinese factory data and new global banking rules.
Also providing a positive underpinning to trading was news that bankers have agreed new rules on the amount banks must hold in reserve.
The Dow Jones Index rose 81 points, to close at 10,544. The Nasdaq Composite gained 43 points to finish at 2286.
European markets also rose. The FTSE 100 in London ended 1.2% higher, the DAX in Frankfurt was up 0.8% and the CAC-40 in Paris rose 1.1%.
Earlier, the Nikkei in Tokyo ended on 9,321, up 82 points. The Hang Seng indes in Hong Kong finished 21,658 up 400 points.
In Sydney, the Australian 200 Index closed 55 points higher at 4615.
The NZX 50 rose 17 points to close at 3178 on turnover of $74 million.
At 8.15am on Tuesday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 73.40 US cents, 78.53 Australian cents, 47.62 pence, 61.45 yen and 0.5704 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 67.73.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US79.16 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1244.65 per ounce.
