(RTTNews) - The New Zealand stock market was trading higher Monday on bargain hunting following Friday’s nearly 2% slide. Wall Street finished mixed on Friday as the strong upward move 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. At 7:51 p.m. ET, the benchmark NZX 50 index was up 12.3 points or 0.5% at 2,667.2 after losing 52.3 points on Friday. The broader NZX All Capital index was adding 8.5 points or 0.3% to 2,700.0.

In the currency market, the New Zealand dollar fell as the U.S. automaker bailout lifted the U.S. dollar and amid expectations of a widening current account deficit and contracting economy at home. The kiwi was buying US$0.5745 in early trade compared to US$0.5825 late Friday.

On Friday, 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.

Crude oil rose on Monday amid speculation that OPEC’s production cuts next month and U.S. economic stimulus plans will stabilize oil prices. At 7:53 p.m. ET, the contract for delivery in February was quoted at $43.19 a barrel, up 83 cents. On Friday, the January contract plunged 6.5% to $33.87 a barrel, the lowest settlement since February 10, 2004.

On the economic front, New Zealand posted a current account deficit of 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.

Top stock Telecom added 0.9% and the third best stock Fletcher Building edged up 0.2%, while Contact Energy declined 1.0%.

Other gainers included New Zealand Refining Co 1.7%, The Warehouse Group 0.3%, Sky City 2.1%, Auckland Airport 0.6%, Ryman Healthcare 0.7%, and dual-listed Westpac and AMP 2.6% and 4.1%, respectively.

Steel & Tube Holdings was unchanged.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases.

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