Stocks have risen on Wall Street after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said he will act to aid the economic recovery if needed and China's exports surged.
The Dow Jones Index was up 23 points at 9,963 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite up 6 points to 21 77
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index in London was up 1.2%, the CAC-40 in Paris was up 2% and the DAX in Frankfurt was up 2%.
Earlier, in Toyko, the NIkkei was down 99 points to 94 39
The Australian 200 Index up 4 points, or 0.1%, at 4385.
The NZX 50 index was up 11 points, or 0.4%, to close at 3000 on turnover of 39 million.
The New Zealand dollar was trading at 66.80 US cents, 80.48 Australian cents, 45.89 pence, 60.99 yen and 0.5560 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 65.55.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US73.74 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1227.35 per ounce.
