(RTTNews) - The New Zealand stock market closed higher on Monday, recouping a portion of the nearly 2% losses that it posted on Friday. The market opened higher, despite a weak lead from Wall Street, and extended its gains as investors went bargain hunting. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed up 24.4 points or 0.9% at 2,679.8 and the broader NZX All Capital index advanced 17.4 points or 0.7% to 2,708.8.

In the currency market, the New Zealand dollar fell against the greenback. The kiwi finished the domestic session at US$0.5760, down from Friday’s close of US$0.5825.

Wall Street finished mixed on Friday as the strong upward move seen in early trading on the back of a government bailout of the auto industry lost steam over the course of the day following a steep fall in oil prices. The Dow closed down 25.9 points or 0.3% at 8,579.1, while the Nasdaq rose 12.0 points or 0.8% to 1,564.3 and the S&P 500 advanced 2.6 points or 0.3% to 887.9.

Oil prices rose above $43 a barrel on Monday in Asia amid speculation that OPEC’s OPEC’s production cuts next month and the economic stimulus measures announced by the U.S. will help stabilize oil prices. Light, sweet crude for February delivery gained 72 cents to $43.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by 00:08 p.m. ET after the contract fell 69 cents to settle at $42.36 a barrel on Friday. The January contract, which expired on Friday, plunged 6.5% to $33.87 a barrel, the lowest settlement since February 10, 2004.

On the economic front, the current account data released today confirmed that New Zealand’s deficit with the outside world is of historic proportions. New Zealand’s current account deficit stood at NZ$4.08 billion for the third quarter of 2008 compared to a deficit of NZ$4.65 billion for the preceding three-month period. The Statistics New Zealand also said that the country’s deficit for the year through September was NZ$15.5 billion compared to a deficit of NZ$15.0 billion for the year through the preceding quarter.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in New Zealand declined in the December quarter, according to the latest survey from Westpac Bank. The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index declined 3.5 points to a reading of 101.3, with readings over 100 indicating the number of optimists is greater than the number of pessimists among those surveyed.

The gross domestic product data due for release on Tuesday is expected to show recession for a third quarter.

Among market leaders, Telecom and Contact Energy closed unchanged, while Fletcher Building surged up 4.6%. TrustPower rose 2.2%, but Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Guinness Peat Group finished flat.

Casino operator SkyCity rose 3.5%, continuing to benefit from its status as a defensive stock. Sanford gained 2.2%.

Among losers, NZX fell 3.0%, PGG Wrightson plummeted 8.7%, Cavalier shed 4.3%, Rakon fell 3.7%, The Warehouse Group slipped 0.3%, New Zealand Oil and Gas lost 2.3% after lifting its stake in Australia’s Pan Pacific Petroleum to just shy of the 15% level.

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

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