NZX 50 up 0.8% in Friday trade; weekly gain muted

New Zealand stocks advanced 105 points, or 0.8%, to 13,985 in Friday morning trade, halting losses in the previous session and tracking a rally on Wall Street overnight, due to a surge in tech stocks.

Optimism over earnings results, as traders continued to brace for the release of earnings reports from some companies later today, lifted sentiment.

However, traders anticipated the RBNZ's monetary policy decision next week.

Caution was also building ahead of a speech from the Fed’s chair for clues on the central bank’s interest rate decision at its upcoming meeting.

Energy, healthcare, and communication services mainly drove the index.

Channel Infrastructure surged 3.4% ahead of the release of its earnings report, while Port of Tauranga rose 1.5% despite reporting a decline in net profit.

Sky Network TV jumped 7.4% after reporting more than double the net profit.

For the week, the index is heading for a muted finish after posting its third consecutive weekly gain.