Australian shares rose 0.3 percent on Friday to close the week on a firmer note, buoyed by renewed hopes for a long-awaited bailout deal for Greece and led by a surge in the shares of surfwear maker Billabong International. Billabong jumped 46 percent to its highest level in 2 months after it rebuffed an $820 million take-over bid from TPG Capital, and announced plans to sell a stake in its Nixon watch brand and close stores as it seeks to pay off debt.
The benchmark index still fell 1.2 percent for the week, taking losses to a third consecutive week as the euro-zone debt crisis has sapped investor confidence. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 14 points on Friday to 4,195.9 points, according to latest available data. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index nudged up 0.08 percent to 3,289 points.
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