At the same time, a kiwi dollar trading near a four-year low is boosting the outlook for exporters.
"There's no shortage of negative sentiment but the NZX50 is up, bucking the trend," said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners.
Software companies Pushpay and Vista led the market higher, both bouncing back from recent sell-offs.
Vista rose 6.8 per cent to $4.06 on a volume of 2m shares, well up on its 90-day average of 439,000.
Pushpay advanced 5.5 per cent to $3.26 with 728,000 shares changing hands, more than its 674,000 average.
Lister said both companies have been under pressure, with Vista punished over its downgraded growth outlook and Pushpay underperforming the past month.
The kiwi dollar dropped below 63 US cents earlier this week, benefiting both companies which generate revenue in US dollars.
"There might be a bit of bargain-hunting in there given the expensive market backdrop," Lister added.
Ebos Group, which is increasingly exposed to the Australian economy, rose 2.4 per cent to $23.76.
Outside the main index, cannabis company Cannasouth climbed 11 per cent to close the day at 45c, not far off its IPO price of 50c prior to the company listing in June.
Last month Cannasouth said it had entered a joint venture with Kapiti-based businessman Aaron Craig to develop a cannabis cultivation facility in the Waikato.
Meanwhile, Sky Network Television fell 0.9 per cent to $1.11 on volume of 1.5m shares.
The pay-TV operator is an importer and has to pay more for programming rights when the currency is weak.
Companies paying reliable dividends remain in demand as investors weigh up the additional risk of buying defensive stocks against the minimal returns available after inflation on term deposits and corporate bonds.
Port of Tauranga advanced 1.5 per cent to $6.60, Vital Healthcare Property Trust was up 1.5 per cent at $2.67, Genesis Energy increased 1.3 per cent to $3.545 on a volume of 1.5 million shares and Meridian Energy rose 0.9 per cent to $5.80 on a volume of 1.6 million shares.
Trustpower's 2021 bond paying annual interest of 5.63 per cent was the most traded debt security on a volume of 362,000.
The notes closed at an unchanged yield of 2.35 per cent.
Trustpower shares increased 0.4 per cent to $7.83, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.39 per cent, according to Refinitiv data.
Spark New Zealand was the most traded stock on a volume of 2.8m shares, less than its 3.3m average.
It rose 1.8 per cent to $4.54. Spark's Qrious big data unit agreed to buy NOW Consulting for an undisclosed sum to accelerate its growth plans.
Arvida Group rose 1.4 per cent to $1.39 on an unusually large volume of 2.1m shares and Air New Zealand was up 0.7 per cent at $2.93 on a volume of 1.7m.
Of other stocks trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Fletcher Building rose 1.8 per cent to $4.60, Kiwi Property Group increased 0.6 per cent to $1.64, SkyCity Entertainment Group was unchanged at $3.85, Contact Energy fell 1.2 per cent to $8.94, and Auckland International Airport was up 0.3 per cent at $9.71. Synlait Milk posted the day's biggest decline, down 2.8 per cent at $9.12 on a volume of 91,000 shares, in line with its 94,000 average.
Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units were down 1.2 per cent at $3.26. Fonterra Cooperative Group today affirmed its current forecast payout for the 2020 season.
It will report its annual result next week, having flagged a loss of up to $675m due to a series of impairment charges to its global businesses, including New Zealand.
A2 Milk was up 0.8 per cent at $14.72.
Goodman Property Trust decreased 0.2 per cent, or 0.5 of a cent, to $2.175.
The property investor shed rights to a dividend of 1.66 cents per unit.
NZX was unchanged at $1.27. Its monthly metrics showed the value of trading growth continued to lag behind the increased volume of transactions in August.
On-market trading accounted for 52.5 per cent of the total value last month. The average daily turnover was $159m in August.
The index has now rallied by 26 per cent since the start of the year.
