New Zealand shares are up, led by Cere and Pacific Edge, as risk appetite returned to the market.
Metlifecare gained after its full-year profit exceeded expectations, while Kathmandu fell on news its chief executive has resigned.
The INSETS 50 Index rose 15.748 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5182.743. Within the index, 25 stocks rose, 21 fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was $92.6 million.
Wall Street rallied last week, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index trading at a record high as data out of the world's biggest economy showed signs of a pick up.
Sentiment flowed through to the local market where the benchmark index gained 1.9 per cent last week, giving investors confidence to return to more risky, tech-based stocks which had been sold down globally as investors questioned their high valuations relative to earnings.
Cere, the cloud-based accounting software firm which has fallen 44 per cent from its March high of $45.99, advanced 5.3 per cent to $25.
Pacific Edge, the Dunedin-based biotech company which has more than halved from its $1.76 high, increased 4.1 per cent to 76 cents.
"Last week was a very strong week for equity markets. We saw some big gains and the US market hit fresh all-time highs," said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners.
"Some of the risk appetite has returned, after things looked a bit shaky there through early August so it's probably partly due to that."
Metlifecare climbed 3.5 per cent to $4.50 after the retirement village operator reported a 37 per cent gain in annual underlying profit to $46 million, the top end of its May guidance.
Kathmandu was the worst performer on the day, down 5 per cent to $3.20 after the outdoor goods retailer's chief executive Peter Halkett said he was resigning effective November.
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