The sharemarket rose as investors were buoyed by positive economic news overseas.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index advanced 0.7%, or 84.257 points, to 11,733.46 on Wednesday. On the broader market 91 stocks rose and 36 fell with $132 million shares traded.

Wall Street rallied on Tuesday, driven by optimism over reports suggesting the American economy is in better shape than feared.

The S&P 500 resumed an upward climb that had carried it earlier this month to its highest level in more than a year. It gained 1.1% to 4378.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 33,926.74, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.6% to 13,555.67.

Reports on the US economy were largely stronger than expected. A reading on consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since the start of 2022, and sales of new homes in May also topped economists’ expectations.

Such data will feed into decisions by the Federal Reserve and other central banks about whether to keep cranking interest rates higher. High rates can undercut inflation, but they also can slow the entire economy, raising the risk of a recession.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1% to 7195.70 after a report showed inflation rose less than expected. The monthly CPI indicator rose 5.6% in the year to May, less than the 6.1% expected by economists and down from 6.8% the previous month.

Devon Funds head of retail Greg Smith said investors were feeling “a bit more upbeat”.

“There hasn’t been a lot of local news flow or local economic data so any moves are probably going to be driven by offshore factors,” he said.

“There’s all that feel good around the US economy with the data coming in better than expected and then closer to home we’ve got the Australian CPI coming in lower than expected and that’s increased the prospect of the RBA going on hold when they meet next week.”

Smith said investors would get more of an insight into sentiment in New Zealand in coming days with the ANZ Business Outlook survey due for release on Thursday and consumer confidence on Friday.

Corporate travel software firm Serko rose 1.1% to $3.60 after telling shareholders at the company’s annual meeting that it had experienced a strong start to its 2024 financial year, which began in April.

“We have had a solid start to the financial year with business travel demand tracking strongly to date,” chairperson Claudia Batten told shareholders.

Batten said if the first quarter trends continue, the company anticipates revenue this year to be above the midpoint of its $63m to $70m guidance range. That’s up from last year’s $48m revenue.

Serko is focused on continued cost discipline and operational efficiency as it tracks towards positive cashflow for the 2025 financial year, she said.

Carpet maker Bremworth closed unchanged at 39 cents after providing an update on the impact to its Napier yarn spinning plant Cyclone Gabrielle in February.

Bremworth has agreed to a further partial settlement of about $15.5m with its insurers – taking the total partial settlement to date to about $35.5m.

“Further insurance payments are expected upon completion of the assessment of damage to buildings, plant and equipment, and the loss of inventory and profit, due to the interruption to the business from Cyclone Gabrielle,” said chief executive Greg Smith.

Clean-up at the Napier site was virtually complete, with buildings, plant and equipment now in a steady state pending a decision on appropriate next steps, he said.

Marlborough Wine Estates Group, which has vineyards in the Awatere Valley, closed unchanged at 17.9c.

Chief executive Andrew Stafford said the 2023 vintage volume from grape harvests over March and April was up 1.7% on the prior year, in line with expectations.

Marlborough Wine Estates expects profit of $200,000 to $300,000 in the year to June 30, down from $328,012 last year.

The company is 72% owned by chairperson Min Jia.

– With AP