The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 310 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 23,790-point plateau and it’s tipped to open higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, supported by bargain hunting and crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the property, oil and casino companies were capped by weakness from the technology shares.
For the day, the index gained 130.01 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 23,788.93 after trading between 23,517.52 and 23,807.00.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies retreated 1.64 percent, while AIA Group improved 0.55 percent, Alibaba Group tumbled 2.47 percent, Alibaba Health Info rose 0.71 percent, ANTA Sports advanced 0.96 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.93 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gained 0.80 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) spiked 2.56 percent, China Resources Land accelerated 2.45 percent, CITIC rallied 1.67 percent, CNOOC was up 0.26 percent, Country Garden sank 0.85 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical strengthened 0.74 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 2.90 percent, Hang Lung Properties dipped 0.13 percent, Henderson Land perked 0.78 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas jumped 1.37 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 2.87 percent, Li Ning gathered 1.08 percent, Longfor surged 3.09 percent, Meituan climbed 1.31 percent, New World Development rose 0.16 percent, Sands China increased 0.70 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties added 0.21 percent, Techtronic Industries gained 0.18 percent, Xiaomi Corporation fell 0.20 percent and WuXi Biologics plunged 4.83 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and largely remained that way to finish with solid gains.
The Dow surged 617.75 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 34,639.70, while the NASDAQ advanced 127.27 points or 0.83 percent to close at 15,381.32 and the S&P 500 jumped 64.04 points or 1.42 percent to end at 4,577.10.
The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting following the steep drop on Wednesday, extending the rollercoaster ride stocks have been on since news of the detection of omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Traders have seemed extremely sensitive to omicron-related news amid concerns the variant could derail the economic recovery even as the Federal Reserve begins scaling back stimulus.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest rebound by initial jobless claims last week.
Crude oil prices rallied on Thursday after falling to a three-month low in the previous session, shaking off plans by OPEC to increase output. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery jumped $0.93 or 1.4 percent to $66.50 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Hong Kong Shares Expected To Open In The Green
2021-12-03 01:15:06
