New Zealand shares finished higher on Thursday even as Wall Street ended lower after disappointing tech earnings led a Wednesday session of sell-off.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.5% or 70.7 points to close at 13,377.10.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%, the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, and the Dow Jones decreased 0.7% on Wednesday.

Streaming giant Netflix's shares fell 10% after the company posted third-quarter revenue growth as expected, but lower operating income and margins. Also, Tesla missed third-quarter profit estimates and fell 3.8% in after-hours trading.

Over 100,000 teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, and support staff across New Zealand walked off the job on Thursday, demanding higher pay and increased funding for the public sector, reflecting mounting frustration with the country's centre-right government, Reuters reported Thursday.

In corporate news, Genesis Energy (NZE:GNE, ASX:GNE) reported total retail electricity sales of 1,874 gigawatt-hours (GWh) for the fiscal first quarter, up from 1,686 GWh a year earlier, according to a Thursday filing with the Australian and New Zealand bourses.

Synlait Milk (NZE:SML, ASX:SM1) confirmed that global healthcare company Abbott received the Overseas Investment Office's approval to acquire its North Island assets under the Overseas Investment Act.