(RTTNews) - The New Zealand stock market closed higher Friday, on bargain hunting, after posting more than 6% losses over the previous two trading sessions. Wall Street’s rebound overnight in late trade boosted investor sentiment. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed up 44.08 points or 1.59% at 2,808.77. However, the key index lost ground in the afternoon session after gaining more than 2% in morning trading. The broader NZX All Capital index advanced 52.40 points or 1.87% to 2,859.69.

In the currency market, the New Zealand dollar gained against the greenback and other major currencies. The kiwi finished the local session at US$0.6181, up from its opening level and low for the day of US$0.6105.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks finished a volatile trading session sharply higher as traders digested a slew of economic data. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 4.7%, the S&P 500 gained 4.3%, and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index advanced 5.5%.

Oil prices climbed nearly $3 on Friday in Asia, rebounding from a 15-month low below $70, amid growing expectations of an OPEC production cut. At 00:38 a.m. ET, oil was quoted at $72.75 a barrel, up $2.90. The contract for November delivery closed down $4.69 at $69.85 a barrel on Thursday in New York.

On the economic front, investors had little news to digest on Friday.

Top stock Telecom surged 4.9%. Telecom accounted for nearly half of the day’s turnover as buyers moved in following Thursday’s 8.6% fall in price to its lowest level in more than 16 years. Second-ranked Contract Energy fell 1.0%, but the third best company Fletcher Building advanced 2.1%.

In the retail space, Hallenstein Glasson lost 3.1% and jeweler Michael Hill declined 1.4%, while Pumpkin Patch jumped 8.6% and The Warehouse Group surged 8.4%.

Pike River Coal closed up 5.4%. The company reported late in the day that it has struck coal at its West Coast mine after two years of tunneling to reach its target of premium-grade hard coking coal.

Steel & Tube Holdings closed unchanged after Australia’s second largest steelmaker OneSteel announced that it has terminated its takeover of Steel & Tube, citing increased market volatility. OneSteel currently holds 50.27% interest in Steel & Tube.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Economy, New Zealand, Releases, USA.

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