Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, tumbling more than 500 points or 3 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 16,530-point plateau although it may find support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as investors try to balance upbeat economic data against its consequences for interest rates. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the properties came in mixed.

For the day, the index lost 110.67 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 16,535.33 after trading between 16,455.57 and 16,745.73.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group plunged 3.24 percent, while Alibaba Health Info declined 2.03 percent, ANTA Sports slid 0.21 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 1.03 percent, China Mengniu Dairy weakened 1.31 percent, China Resources Land rallied 0.94 percent, CITIC skidded 1.16 percent, CNOOC jumped 1.65 percent, Country Garden and CLP Holdings both eased 0.16 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 2.18 percent, ENN Energy surged 3.69 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tanked 2.83 percent, Haier Smart Home soared 2.80 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.39 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 0.68 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.79 percent, JD.com stumbled 1.59 percent, Lenovo plummeted 3.93 percent, Li Ning retreated 1.77 percent, Meituan added 0.32 percent, New World Development slumped 1.42 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.97 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 0.93 percent, WuXi Biologics surrendered 2.48 percent and Henderson Land was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages saw considerable volatility on Friday before ending with slight gains.

The Dow added 25.81 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 37,466.11, while the NASDAQ rose 13.77 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,524.07 and the S&P 500 perked 8.56 points or 0.18 percent to end at 4,697.24.

For the week, the major averages were down for the first time in 10 weeks as the NASDAQ plunged 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.5 percent and the Dow slid 0.6 percent.

The volatility came as traders reacted to key U.S. economic data, including a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in December.

While the data initially raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, positive sentiment prevailed as traders digested the details of the report, which also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in October and November.

Crude oil showed a strong move to the upside on Friday, reflected ongoing fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery surged $1.62 or 2.2 percent to $73.81 a barrel.