The benchmark NZX50 index gained 30 points to close at 3174 on Tuesday, on turnover of $72 million.
Fletcher Building was up 1c to $8.15, Telecom up 4c to $2.13 and Contact Energy down 9c to $5.74.
Sky City Entertainment gained 2c to $2.97 and Sky Network Television 9c to $5.19.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 2c to $3.06, while Vector was unchanged at $2.07.
Mainfreight put on 4c to $6.84, and Steel and Tube rose 3c to $2.40.
NZX itself gained 5c to $1.50 after it said the total value of trades on the stock market rose 21% in August to $1.76 billion, largely because of a 23% pickup in the value traded on its main board.
Pyne Gould Corporation was down 1c to 42c after its finance arm, Marac, secured the rights to sell Holden-branded finance and insurance for the country's third largest car distributor.
In currency markets, the NZ dollar was at 72.40 US, 79.10 Australian, 47.05 pence, 60.85 yen and .5653 euro; the TWI stood at 67.22.
Australian market flat
The Australian sharemarket finished flat after rebounding from intra-day lows, following news that the Labor Party would be returned to power.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 2.3 points, or 0.05%, at 4573.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 2.7 points, or 0.06%, at 4613.
