Hong Kong Stock Market Tipped To Bounce Higher On Friday

The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 450 points or 1.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 28,790-point plateau although it’s likely to rebound on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for economic recovery and rising crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the casinos and mixed performances from the properties and oil companies.

For the day, the index dropped 107.69 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 28,793.14 after trading between 28,530.99 and 28,884.57.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies and Power Assets both fell 0.32 percent, while AIA Group rallied 0.96 percent, Alibaba Group tumbled 1.68 percent, Alibaba Health Info shed 0.66 percent, ANTA Sports spiked 1.00 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.52 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tanked 1.77 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 1.41 percent, China Resources Land advanced 0.95 percent, CITIC eased 0.13 percent, CNOOC surged 1.61 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical sank 1.14 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plummeted 2.43 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.47 percent, Henderson Land was down 0.28 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas was up 0.33 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Sands China both skidded 1.63 percent, Longfor soared 1.18 percent, Meituan lost 0.42 percent, New World Development rose 0.35 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties surrendered 1.22 percent, Techtronic Industries dropped 0.72 percent, Xiaomi Corporation added 0.59 percent and WuXi Biologics plunged 2.06 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks moved sharply higher on Thursday, offsetting losses from the previous session and sending the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow spiked 305.10 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 34,035.99, while the NASDAQ jumped 180.92 points or 1.31 percent to end at 14,038.76 and the S&P 500 gained 45.76 points or 1.11 percent to close at 4,170.42.

The rally on Wall Street followed a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales spiked much more than expected in March. A separate report from by the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back much more than expected last week.

Also, The National Association of Home Builders noted a modest increase in U.S. homebuilder confidence in April, while the Federal Reserve reported a rebound in industrial production last month.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, extending gains to a fourth straight session, continuing to ride on the recent upward revision in the global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.31 or 0.5 percent at $63.46 a barrel.

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