The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 600 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just shy of the 26,030-point plateau although it figures to spin its wheels on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. employment data at the end of the week, while support from crude oil prices may nudge markets into the green. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, properties, casinos and oil companies.
For the day, the index climbed 149.30 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 26,028.29 after trading between 25,694.11 and 26,101.95.
Among the actives, AIA Group and Wharf Real Estate both gained 0.91 percent, while Alibaba Group eased 0.18 percent, Alibaba Health Info advanced 1.25 percent, ANTA Sports perked 1.56 percent, China Life Insurance surged 2.61 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.28 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) improved 0.27 percent, China Resources Land rose 0.86 percent, CITIC dropped 0.62 percent, CNOOC spiked 2.19 percent, Country Garden soared 2.45 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical gathered 1.72 percent, Galaxy Entertainment accelerated 2.01 percent, Hang Lung Properties strengthened 0.96 percent, Henderson Land added 1.14 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.16 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.92 percent, Longfor skyrocketed 4.75 percent, Meituan climbed 1.77 percent, New World Development sank 0.68 percent, Sands China jumped 1.80 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties was up 0.18 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 1.45 percent, Xiaomi Corporation increased 0.80 percent, WuXi Biologics plunged 2.99 percent and AAC Technologies was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow quickly slipped into negative territory and finished in the red.
The Dow shed 48.20 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 35,312.53, while the NASDAQ gained 50.15 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record 15,309.38 and the S&P 500 rose 1.41 points or 0.03 percent to end at 4,524.09.
The lackluster close on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Economists currently expect employment to jump by 750,000 jobs in August after surging by 943,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in August. And the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in August.
Crude oil futures settled marginally higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.09 or 0.1 percent at $68.59 a barrel.
Rally May Stall For Hong Kong Stock Market
2021-09-02 01:15:08
