New Zealand shares rose, led by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp, after an Australian report proposed restrictions on lenders that were less onerous than feared. Pacific Edge gained on the launch of its second commercialised product.
The NZX 50 Index rose 7.413 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5529.322. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 23 fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was a lighter-than-usual $88.9 million.
Across the Tasman 'the big four' Australian banks, which own New Zealand's major banks, rose after the government's Murray Report into the finance sector proposed milder changes than the market was expecting, including lifting how much capital banks must keep on hand. ANZ gained 3.5 percent to $35.40 and Westpac advanced 3.4 percent to $36.45.
"The banks had come back a long way in the expectation of what the capital requirements would be," said David Price, a broker at Forsyth Barr. "I think the market prepared for the worst and it hasn't turned out that way."
Pacific Edge rose 1.2 percent to 86 cents, paring an intraday climb as high as 88 cents. The Dunedin-based non-invasive bladder cancer test developer launched its second cancer test in New Zealand and flags a US launch early next year.