(RTTNews) - New Zealand share market opened higher on Friday, bouncing back from the previous session’s heavy losses with a strong positive boost from Wall Street, where U.S. stocks closed sharply higher.

The benchmark NZX 50 index was up 41.68 points or 1.51% to 2,806.37 shortly after the market opened for the day, while the broader NZX All Capital Index rose 33.38 points or 1.19% to 2,840.67.

New Zealand stocks moved lower along with others in the Asia/Pacific region on Thursday, as fears over a possible global recession spooked markets around the globe. The market plunged 5%, extending its losses for the second consecutive trading session.

The benchmark NZX 50 closed down 139.95 points or 5.06% at 2,764.69 and the broader NZX All Capital index shed 140.15 points or 4.99% to end at 2,807.30.

Overseas, the U.S. stocks moved through a roller coaster ride on Thursday, finishing with a strong gain after a sharp round of buying in the final hour. With traders digesting a slew of economic data, the U.S. stock markets experienced substantial volatility in the day’s trading. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line over the course of the session, eventually ending the day sharply higher.

Crude oil closed below $70 a barrel for the first time in more than a year on the New York Mercantile Exchange as a larger-than-expected build in inventories further illustrated the decline in demand amidst the credit crisis.

Light sweet crude for November ended at $69.85, down $4.69 for the session. Oil hit as low as $68.57 and posted its first sub-$70 close since Aug. 23, 2007.

On the currency front, the kiwi was buying US 61.91c in the early trading on Friday, slightly higher than US61.79 at Thursday’s close at 5.00 pm ET on the New York Exchange.

In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Friday, the country’s top ranked share Telecom added 1.79%, while the second ranked Contact Energy surged 2.38%. Fletcher Building, the third best stock, collected 2.39%.

In the retail sector Hallenstein Glasson and jewelry retailer Michael Hill International remained unchanged. The Warehouse jumped 5.04%, as Pumpkin Patch climbed 2.86%.

In the energy sector Vector advanced 0.99%, while TrustPower collected 0.73% in the day’s early trading.

Among the dual listed issues AMP inched up 0.16%, as Australia and NZ Banking Corp added 1.59%. APN News & Media, Lion Nathan, Telstra and Westpac Bank remained unchanged.

Among other notable stocks, Nuplex remained unchanged, as Infratil was up by 2.63%. Methven surged 4.00%, as Mainfreight gained 0.38%. Steel & Tube Holdings advanced 0.83%, as Sky Network Television collected 0.51%. Sky City jumped 2.01%. Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 0.74%, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare added 2.44%.

Among the major gainers on Thursday morning were - Auckland International Airport by 2.89%, Air New Zealand by 3.66%, Guinness Peat Group by 4.17%, Kiwi Income Property Trust by 1.82%, NZ Farming Systems by 4.35, PGG Wrightson by 3.55%, Pike River Coal by 6.98%, Ryman Healthcare by 3.45%, and Tower by 2.94%.

There was only one loser among the stocks listed under the NZX 50 index in the trading on Friday morning. New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited dropped 1.79% in the day’s early trading.

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

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