Wall Street gained on Monday after figures on Friday showed the US services sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years in March. The markets were also boosted by encouraging job growth numbers.
On Friday, the Labor Department said US employers had created 162,000 new jobs in March, the highest monthly number since March 2007.
However, the unemployment rate remained at 9.7% for the third consecutive month.
The Dow Jones Index was up 46 points, or 0.4% on Monday to 10,973. The Nasdaq Composite was up 26 points, or 1.1% to 2249.
The Australian 200 Index closed on Thursday 32 points higher, or 0.6% to 4907.
The NZX 50 finished last week 8 points higher, or 0.2%, to 3276.
At 6.30am on Tuesday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 70.45 US cents, 76.51 Australian cents, 46.05 pence, 66.32 yen, and 0.5219 euro. The TWI was at 65.49.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US83.97 per barrel , amid optimism that improved US job creation will boost economic recovery. Gold was trading at $US1113 per ounce.
