New Zealand share prices firmed by just under one per cent in the first few minutes of trade after major offshore markets surged higher overnight.
After 10 minutes, the S&P/NZX-50 index was up 38 points, or 0.7 per cent at 5648.63.
"It's moving in the right direction but it doesn't have quite the same scale just yet," James Bascand at brokers Forsyth Barr said.
Shares on both sides of the Atlantic moved higher overnight, triggered in part by a late surge in Chinese equities, amid optimism China's government will act to support its flagging economy.
America's Dow Jones industrial index rose 390.30 points, or 2.4 per cent, to close at 16,492.68 and Britain's FTSE100 finished at 6,146.10, up 71.58 points (1.18 per cent).
