Hong Kong Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 200 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 19,300-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the energy and financial companies were offset by weakness from the technology and property sectors.

For the day, the index gained 47.18 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 19,299.18 after trading between 19,087.66 and 19,339.82.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group skidded 0.83 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tumbled 2.03 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 1.48 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.49 percent, China Mengniu Dairy sank 0.35 percent, China Resources Land and CSPC Pharmaceutical both climbed 1.05 percent, CITIC soared 3.13 percent, CNOOC spiked 2.88 percent, Country Garden surged 4.30 percent, Galaxy Entertainment declined 1.66 percent, Hang Lung Properties lost 0.15 percent, Henderson Land dropped 0.42 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.93 percent, JD.com rose 0.35 percent, Lenovo fell 0.13 percent, Li Ning stumbled 1.59 percent, Meituan added 0.73 percent, New World Development advanced 1.01 percent, Techtronic Industries gained 0.60 percent, Xiaomi Corporation retreated 1.63 percent, WuXi Biologics eased 0.11 percent and Hong Kong & China Gas was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a flat lead on Thursday and climbed steadily throughout the session, ending solidly in the green.

The Dow climbed 168.59 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 33,833.61, while the NASDAQ jumped 133.63 points or 1.02 percent to close at 13,238.52 and the S&P 500 rose 26.41 points or 0.62 percent to end at 4,293.93.

The strength on Wall Street reflected easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims increased by much more than expected last week.

While jobless claims can be volatile around holidays like Memorial Day, the data seems to have added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will pause its interest rate hikes at Wednesday's meeting.

Crude oil prices regained ground after a midday sell-off but still ended Thursday's trading session firmly in negative territory as concerns about the outlook for energy demand continued to weigh on the markets. West Texas Intermediate for July shed $1.24 or 1.7 percent at $71.29 a barrel.