New Zealand shares rose Friday after Wall Street touched new highs, helped by better-than-expected jobs growth data.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.5% or 62.12 points to close at 12,766.60.

Both the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite broke records to close at all-time peaks, gaining 0.8% and 1%, respectively.

US employers added 147,000 jobs in June, exceeding estimates, while the unemployment rate lowered to 4.1%, reported Bloomberg on Thursday, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Meanwhile, US President Trump said his administration may begin sending out letters to trading partners as soon as Friday, to set unilateral tariff rates, ahead of his July 9 deadline for trade negotiations, Bloomberg reported Friday.

"There is still uncertainty out there, but one thing we do know is the US economy seems to be holding up relatively well," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia, as quoted by Bloomberg.

"The hope, most likely, is that this development will lead to additional trade deals that could see tariffs come down. But on the whole, I think that investors are still in for a rude awakening. With markets at all-time highs, there is a lot of opportunity for a decline moving forward," said Daniel Jones, investing group leader of Crude Value Insights, as quoted by Seeking Alpha.

In domestic news, New Zealand's total loans and advances rose to NZ$554.8 billion in May from NZ$553.13 billion in April, data from the Reserve Bank showed.

In corporate news, Skellerup Holdings (NZE:SKL) confirmed that its fiscal 2025 profit outlook remains unchanged despite ongoing US tariff reviews.

Tourism Holdings (ASX:THL, NZE:THL) expects fiscal 2025 underlying net profit after tax to be at the lower end of its NZ$27 million to NZ$34.4 million guidance range, citing challenges in global recreational vehicle sales and softer US performance.