The benchmark NZX50 index rose 31 points to 3263 on Thursday's trading, with turnover of $91 million.
Fletcher Building rose 19c to $8.38, Telecom 6c to $2.08 and Contact Energy 2c to $5.68.
Gains were also notched by Fisher & Paykel Appliances (up 2c to 60c), Auckland International Airport (3c to $2.07), Sky City Entertainment Group (1c to $2.89), Sky Network Television (14c to $5.15), the Warehouse (2c to $3.89), Pumpkin Patch (4c to $1.94), Hallenstein Glasson (5c to $4.39), Ebos Group (7c to $7) and Rakon (4c to $1.27).
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 1 c to $3.16 and NZ Farming Systems Uruguay 4c to 59c, while PGG Wrightson was unchanged at 58c.
In currency markets, the NZ dollar was at 76.15 US, 76.46 Australian, 47.71 pence, 61.92 yen and .5414 euro, while the TWI stood at 67.18.
Across the Tasman
The Australian market also closed higher, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index up 79.2 points, or 1.71%, at 4699.1.
The broader All Ordinaries index was 74.8 points higher, or 1.59%, at 4765.9.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was 74 points higher at 4710, with 32,055 contracts traded.
