French food giant Danone has entered an agreement to buy New Zealand dairy processing firms Sutton Group and Gardians.

According to the NZX, there is a gap in our capital markets infrastructure that hampers small and mid-sized companies' abilities to raise capital.

NZ Stocks rose led by Pacific Edge as investors re-evaluate prices of tech stocks after the recent a sell-off in the sector worldwide.

New Zealand shares followed Wall Street lower as investors question whether tech and high-growth companies can deliver the earnings growth implied by their valuations. Pacific Edge led the NZX 50 Index lower, while Xero and Diligent Board Member Services

The volume of trading on New Zealand's share market continued to gain in March, though the value of activity fell for a fourth month.