Stocks in the United States and Europe have risen on speculation the US Federal Reserve will announce it plans to hold interest rates at a record low for an extended period, to sustain the global economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Index was up 34 points to 10,486 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite was up 15 points to 2216.
The FTSE 100 in London was up 24 points to 5309, the DAX in Frankfurt was up 78 points to 5889, and the CAC-40 in Paris was up 33 points to 3867.
Earlier, the Australian 200 Index closed down 12 points, or 0.25%, at 4662.
The NZX 50 closed up 15 points, or 0.48%, to 3132 on turnover of $62 million.
At 8.10am on Thursday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 72.06 US cents, 80.07 Australian cents, 44.09 pence, 64.64 yen and 0.4953 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 65.19.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US73.52 per barrel. Gold was trading at $US1135.60 cents per ounce.
