Stocks have risen on Tuesday, but trade was volatile after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said growth remains weak.
He told the Senate Banking Committee that the US economic recovery was being held back by anxiety over Europe's debt crisis and the path of US fiscal policy.
Investors were initially frustrated about his lack of specifics about stimulus measures, driving stocks lower in early trading.
The Dow Jones Index was up 64 points to 12,792 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 9 points to 2906.
The FTSE100 in London was down 0.59% and the DAX40 in Paris by 0.09%, but the DAX in Frankfurt was up 0.18%.
The Australian 200 Index closed on Tuesday up 36 points, or 0.9%, at 4141 and the NZX 50 rose 1.5 points to 3469.
At 8.30am on Monday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 79.79 US cents, 77.43 Australian cents, 51.03 pence, 63.13 yen and 0.6496 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 72.3.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US105 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1586 per ounce.
