Leading stocks in the United States rose in early trading on Friday after retailers reported better-than-expected sales.
Walt Disney was up 1.8% and Coca Cola was up 1.5%. Wal-Mart also rose after announcing an increase in its dividend.
The Dow Jones index was up 16 points, or 0.16%, to 10,413. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1 point to 2282.
In London, the FTSE100 remained flat after the Bank of England held rates at a record low of 0.5%.
The Australian 200 Index closed up 14 points, or 0.3%, at 3213.
The NZX 50 closed 25 points higher, or 0.4%, at 3213 on turnover of 75 million.
At 8.03am on Friday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 68.55 US cents, 76.28 Australian cents, 45.64 pence, 61.13 yen and 0.5056 euro.
The Trade Weighted Index was at 63.55.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US78.26 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1128.30 per ounce.
