The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 360 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 29,300-point plateau and it’s got a firm lead again for Friday’s trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to solid earnings news and rising crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the casinos and property, technology and oil companies.
For the day, the index climbed 231.92 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 29,303.26 after trading between 29,162.87 and 29,405.12.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies collected 0.23 percent, while AIA Group surged 3.71 percent, Alibaba Group dipped 0.09 percent, Alibaba Health Info tumbled 0.62 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.35 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.53 percent, China Mengniu Dairy added 1.06 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rallied 1.80 percent, China Resources Land improved 0.68 percent, CITIC accelerated 1.87 percent, CNOOC perked 1.23 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical was up 0.10 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 2.53 percent, Hang Lung Properties rose 0.94 percent, Henderson Land increased 0.29 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.97 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China plunged 0.94 percent, Longfor tanked 0.72 percent, Meituan eased 0.06 percent, New World Development advanced 1.09 percent, Sands China gathered 1.33 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties strengthened 0.34 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 2.31 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skidded 0.59 percent and WuXi Biologics climbed 1.45 percent.
The lead from Wall Street ends up positive after the major averages saw wild fluctuations on Thursday before finally ending firmly in the green.
The Dow jumped 239.98 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 34,060 .36, while the NASDAQ added 31.52 points or 0.22 percent to end at 14,082.55 and the S&P 500 rose 28.29 points or 0.68 percent to close at 4,211.47.
The higher close on Wall Street came following upbeat earnings news from tech giants like Qualcomm (QCOM), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB).
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped to a new pandemic-era low last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted an acceleration in the pace of U.S. economic growth in the first three months of 2021.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand following a drop in U.S. petroleum product supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $1.15 or 1.8 percent at $65.01 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Hong Kong Stock Market Poised To Extend Its Gains
2021-04-30 01:00:15
