New Zealand shares rose on Friday, tracking gains from the record highs on Wall Street, helped by the Federal Reserve's rate cut.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.85% or 111.63 points to close at 13,231.63.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 was up 0.5%, closing at a record high of 6,631.94 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9%, also at the record close of 22,470.73 points, and the Dow Jones rose 0.3% ending at a record high close of 46,142.24 points.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's finance minister is set to name a new central bank chief in the coming weeks, a decision economists hope will mark the end of a turbulent period following the unexpected departures of both the governor and chairman, Reuters reported Friday.

In domestic news, job ads in New Zealand rose 1% for the past three months, respectively, and annual job ad volume has risen for the first time in over two years, according to a seek.co.nz report.

Also, New Zealand's weaker-than-expected second-quarter gross domestic product data have increased the odds for a 50 basis points rate cut in October, said ANZ in a report.

Meanwhile, credit card spending in New Zealand increased by 2.2% month-on-month to NZ$4.22 billion in August after a 0.3% increase in July, while credit card balances rose 0.7% to NZ$6.01 billion in August, following a 0.3% fall in the previous month, data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed.

Further, New Zealand recorded a trade deficit of NZ$1.18 billion in August, compared with a deficit of NZ$716.3 million in July, Stats NZ data showed.

Additionally, Westpac (NZE:WBC, ASX:WBC) said on Thursday that it expects the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to cut the official cash rate by 50 basis points in October, up from its prior forecast of a 25 basis points cut, due to very weak economic output in the second quarter.

In corporate news, Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ, NZE:AIR) bought back nearly 2 million ordinary shares.

Sky Network Television (ASX:SKT, NZE:SKT) secured a three-year extension of its partnership with Formula 1 (F1), with the renewed rights deal commencing at the start of the 2026 season in March.