New Zealand stock rose with a global rally, as Diligent Board Member Services rose after positive news out of the US tech sector.
The NZX 50 Index climbed 24.741 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4874.583. Within the Index 26 stock rose, 18 fell and six were unchanged. Total turnover for the day was $102.7 million.
Overnight positive news from social networking website Facebook announcing strong advertising revenue on its smart-phone app underpinned a rally on Wall Street. Asian markets followed suit, with South Korea's KOPSI 200 Index up 1.2 percent in afternoon trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.5 percent.
"With high growth stocks, like Diligent, they respond to any good news in the tech sector," said Peter McIntyre, investment advisor at Craigs Investment Partners. "Overnight there was good news out of Facebook, and here tech stock responded to that."
Diligent, which is in the process of restating its accounts, rose 2.6 percent to $4.35. Fellow tech stock, cloud-based accounting software company Xero also gained 1.8 percent to $41.49. The Wellington-based company said its cash-burn rose at a slower pace in the December quarter.