Hong Kong Shares Expected To Open In The Green On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 1,000 points or 7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 15,400-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology and oil companies expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, oil companies and properties, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 114.89 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 15,391.79 after trading between 15,183.96 and 15,463.69.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rallied 1.52 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 0.62 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.37 percent, China Life Insurance improved 1.29 percent, China Mengniu Dairy lost 0.34 percent, China Resources Land was up 0.22 percent, CITIC strengthened 1.45 percent, CNOOC gained 0.76 percent, Country Garden gathered 0.58 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical accelerated 1.67 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 2.45 percent, Haier Smart Home slumped 1.16 percent, Hang Lung Properties spiked 2.21 percent, Henderson Land perked 0.24 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 1.26 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.56 percent, JD.com tumbled 1.65 percent, Lenovo advanced 1.15 percent, Li Ning retreated 1.35 percent, Meituan jumped 1.53 percent, New World Development surged 4.18 percent, Techtronic Industries dropped 0.48 percent, Xiaomi Corporation climbed 1.37 percent and WuXi Biologics added 0.87 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but all ended up firmly in the green by the day's end.

The Dow advanced 201.94 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 37,468.61, while the NASDAQ rallied 200.03 points or 1.35 percent to close at 15,055.65 and the S&P 500 gained 41.73 points or 0.88 percent to end at 4,780.94.

The rebound on Wall Street came despite a continued increase by treasury yields, which moved higher after the Labor Department noted an unexpected weekly decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.

Tech stocks helped lead the way higher on Wall Street, with shares of Apple (AAPL) jumping 3.3 percent after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.

A rally by semiconductor stocks also contributed to the surge by the NASDAQ as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiked by 3.4 percent. Networking, computer hardware and software stocks also showed notable moves to the upside.

Oil prices climbed higher Thursday, lifted by data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, and on higher forecasts for global demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February rallied $1.52 at $74.08 a barrel.