Facebook shares bounce back to pre-scandal level

While Facebook's practices leading up to the 2016election are still under scrutiny, Wall Street appears to have moved on for now.

Shares traded near$187US on Friday, surpassing previous levels before it was revealed that the company failed to prevent major privacy breaches during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election in the United States.

Cambridge Analytica, whose clients included Donald Trump's presidential campaign, sought information on Facebook users to build psychological profiles on a large portion of the U.S. electorate.

Shares plunged 13 per cent on the revelation in March.

On Thursday, Democrats on the House intelligence committee released more than 3,500 Facebook ads that were created or promoted by a Russian internet agency.

Despite the scandals, Facebook last month reported that first-quarter revenue, mostly from ads, soared 49 per cent.

Facebook's shares gained $1.46 to close at $186.99on the New York Stock Exchange.