New Zealand shares rose on Wednesday as Asian indexes tracked gains from Wall Street after it slightly recovered from its correction territory.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 1.2% or 149.67 points to close at 12,334.18.
On Tuesday's close, the benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.
On the local macroeconomic front, New Zealand's total lending rose to NZ$5.85 billion in February from NZ$5.13 billion in January, data from the Reserve Bank showed Wednesday.
In corporate news, Westpac Banking (NZE:WBC, ASX:WBC) requested New Zealand's Reserve Bank to review the 2019 capital adequacy rules, calling it more cautious than most other countries. The lender's Kiwi shares closed marginally higher.
NZME's (ASX:NZM, NZE:NZM) shareholder Jim Grenon demanded a board overhaul alleging the company of "poor" operating performance and "cherry picking" data to mislead investors. The company's New Zealand shares were up more than 3% at market close.