The New Zealand stock market recovered some ground in afternoon trading Friday but still finished 2 per cent down, with its benchmark index of top 50 stocks dropping to its lowest level since December 2005, according to DPA. The index ended the day on 3226, 65 points down on Thursday's closing mark, after falling 2.5 per cent at one stage. Analysts blamed the plunge on Wall Street news that the New Zealand economy had contracted 0.3 per cent in the March quarter and profit downgrades by two major discount retail chains for spooking investors.
