Hong Kong Bourse Inherits Solid Lead For Friday

The Hong Kong stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 350 points or 1.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,725-point plateau and it’s called to open higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and resource stocks.

For the day, the index advanced 166.68 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 19,727.25 after trading between 19,630.76 and 19,894.23.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group soared 2.69 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tumbled 1.64 percent, ANTA Sports added 0.63 percent, China Life Insurance skyrocketed 3.59 percent, China Mengniu Dairy improved 0.65 percent, China Resources Land climbed 0.92 percent, CITIC spiked 2.20 percent, CNOOC rallied 0.94 percent, Country Garden advanced 0.80 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical lost 0.40 percent, Galaxy Entertainment accelerated 1.67 percent, Hang Lung Properties rose 0.32 percent, Henderson Land perked 0.18 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dropped 0.95 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.83 percent, JD.com gathered 0.28 percent, Lenovo surged 3.40 percent, Li Ning sank 0.51 percent, Meituan gained 0.38 percent, New World Development was up 0.10 percent, Techtronic Industries increased 0.57 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.29 percent and WuXi Biologics plunged 2.79 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off a flat open on Thursday, bounced up and down throughout the session before ending firmly higher.

The Dow climbed 115.14 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 33,535.91, while the NASDAQ surged 188.27 points or 1.51 percent to end at 12,688.84 and the S&P 500 added 39.28 points or 0.94 percent to close at 4,198.05.

Optimism lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street.

Following a meeting earlier in the week, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., both expressed optimism a deal will be reached.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. The National Association of Realtors also released a report unexpectedly showing a steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in April.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for demand after recent data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a strong dollar weighed as well on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $71.86 a barrel.