Countrywide contacted due to unusual activity: NYSE

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange on Thursday said it has contacted Countrywide Financial Corp to make a statement due to unusual activity in the mortgage lender's stock.

Countrywide declined to comment, the NYSE said in a statement.

Countrywide's stock shot up more than 70 percent after news that Bank of America was in talks to buy Countrywide.

Shares of Countrywide, whose stock plunged earlier this week after market talk the company may file for bankruptcy amid its struggles with the mortgage market crisis, were last up 54 percent at $7.92.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch)