The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 765 points or 2.66 per cent to 29,490.89; S&P 500 was up 2.59 per cent to 3678.43; and Nasdaq Composite increased 2.27 per cent to 10,815.43.
With the Dow Jones futures looking good, investors wondered whether the markets were staging a rally. The S&P 500 fell 9.3 per cent in September and reached its lowest level since March 200 and before that in 2009.
Mark Lister, head of private wealth research with Craigs Investment Partners, wasn't so sure about a rally.
"With high inflation and interest rates going up, we are going to see ups and downs in the markets in the form of sharp rebounds and sell-offs. Our market has performed well coming off the horror month for US shares, which had a bounce after a period of quite intense selling," he said.
"Maybe the UK backtrack on their tax cuts had a hand in making people feel better or there was just bargain hunting. Will it last, who knows?"
The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised the market with a less-than-expected 25 basis points rise in its cash rate to 2.6 per cent, instead of a 50 basis points hike. The rate, nonetheless, is at a nine-year high.
The bank is forecasting inflation, presently 6.1 per cent, to peak in Australia at around 7.75 per cent this year and then fall to 4 per cent over next year and around 3 per cent in 2024.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index surged 3.54 per cent to 6685.4 points at 6pm NZ time.
At home, Auckland International Airport – the third biggest local stock on market capitalisation – increased 21.5c or 3 per cent to $7.37. Spark, the fourth biggest, was up 13.5c or 2.7 per cent to $5.13 on trade worth $15.2m, and has risen more than 13 per cent so far this year while the market has fallen 15 per cent.
Ebos Group was up 29c to $37.59; Mainfreight collected $1 to $67.20; Ryman Healthcare increased 18c or 2.12 per cent to $8.67; and Chorus added 7c to $7.63.
Contact Energy gained 10c to $7.37, while Mercury was down 12.5c or 2.24 per cent to $5.445.
The property sector had a better day. Vital Healthcare Trust gained 7c or 2.88 per cent to $2.50; Property for Industry was up 6.5c or 2.69 per cent to $2.48; Kiwi rose 5c or 5.68 per cent to 93c; Goodman Trust increased 5c or 2.51 per cent to $2.04; Stride added 45c or 2.5 per cent to $1.64; and Argosy was up 1.5c to $1.19.
Wine exporter Delegat Group gained 20c or 1.96 per cent to $10.40; Serko was up 10c or 3.23 per cent to $3.20; Rakon rose 7c or 6.03 per cent to $1.23; Winton Land improved 5c or 1.92 per cent to $2.65; Comvita increased 7c or 2.18 per cent to $3.28; and Pacific Edge was up 1.5c or 3.19 per cent to 48.5c.
Retailers Briscoe Group increased 13c or 2.5 per cent to $5.33; The Warehouse was up 6c or 1.97 per cent to $3.10; and KMD Brands gained 3c or 2.94 per cent to $1.05.
In the banking sector, ANZ rose 96c or 3.66 per cent to $26.78; and Westpac increased 89c or 1.97 per cent to $24.39.
Other gainers were Air New Zealand increasing 1.5c or 2.14 per cent to 71.5c; Gentrack, up 8c or 5.52 per cent to $1.53; Sanford collecting 8c or 1.91 per cent to 4.26; Accordant Group improving 6c or 3.59 per cent to $1.73; and Allied Farmers rising 4c or 5.63 per cent to 75c.
Retirement village operator Arvida, down 4c or 2.8 per cent to $1.39, reported in its investor newsletter that sales were firm in the five months ending August. The total of 210 sales (new and resale) was 6 per cent ahead of the volume in the corresponding period last year. Unit pricing on settled resales averaged 6 per cent above March valuations.
Other decliners were Eroad down 8c or 5.1 per cent to $1.49; Foley Wines falling 5c or 3.45 per cent to $1.40; and Trade Window decreasing 3c or 4.48 per cent to 64c.
