Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open To The Upside

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 400 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 24,910-point plateau and it's looking at another green light for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over earnings, with tech shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished barely higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index rose 8.10 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 24,910.63 after trading between 24,806.46 and 25,002.97.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and CSPC Pharmaceutical both added 0.60 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 0.80 percent, ANTA Sports plunged 3.26 percent, China Life Insurance and Henderson Land both tumbled 0.87 percent, China Mengniu Dairy fell 0.36 percent, China Resources Land surrendered 0.97 percent, CITIC tanked 1.52 percent, CNOOC gained 0.59 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and Xiaomi Corporation both lost 0.55 percent, Haier Smart Home jumped 1.38 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.72 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.81 percent, JD.com slipped 0.33 percent, Lenovo and CLP Holdings both retreated 0.90 percent, Li Auto plummeted 5.35 percent, Li Ning slumped 0.84 percent, Meituan stumbled 1.46 percent, New World Development rose 0.15 percent, Nongfu Spring eased 0.09 percent, Techtronic Industries advanced 0.74 percent, WuXi Biologics sank 0.75 percent and Hang Lung Properties was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but quickly turned higher and spent the balance of the session in the green.

The Dow improved 81.38 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 44,193.12, while the NASDAQ rallied 252.87 points or 1.21 percent to end at 21,169.42 and the S&P 500 gained 45.87 points or 0.73 percent to close at 6,345.06.

Apple (AAPL) helped to lead the markets higher following reports the company will announce plans to invest $100 billion to expand its U.S. operations and increase its total investment in the U.S. over the next four years to $600 billion.

Stocks also benefitted from strong earnings news from companies like McDonald's (MCD), which reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shopify (SHOP) also beat the street.

On the other hand, Super Micro Computer (SMCI), social media platform Snap (SNAP) and Disney (DIS) reported mixed third quarter results.

Crude oil lost early gains on Wednesday as Russia faces a threat of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports after August 8 if it fails to end its attempt to annex Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.96 or 1.47 percent at $64.20 per barrel.