Hong Kong Shares May Be Stuck In Neutral On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, gathering almost 1,300 points or 5.1 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 25,670-point plateau although it's expected to see profit taking on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on the improving outlook for trade deals. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are likely to follow that lead, with some profit taking in order.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher again on Thursday following gains from the technology and insurance companies, while the properties and financials were mixed.

For the day, the index improved 129.11 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 25,667.18 after trading between 25,502.49 and 25,735.89.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group sank 0.50 percent, while Alibaba Health Info jumped 2.10 percent, ANTA Sports plummeted 3.75 percent, China Life Insurance accelerated 3.23 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.71 percent, CITIC soared 5.47 percent, CNOOC added 0.42 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical improved 0.70 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 3.12 percent, Haier Smart Home dropped 0.57 percent, Hang Lung Properties shed 0.27 percent, Henderson Land gained 0.18 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.14 percent, JD.com slumped 0.60 percent, Lenovo and Li Ning both strengthened 1.76 percent, Li Auto stumbled 2.14 percent, Meituan advanced 0.90 percent, New World Development surged 5.55 percent, Nongfu Spring lost 0.22 percent, Techtronic Industries climbed 1.63 percent, Xiaomi Corporation perked 0.09 percent, WuXi Biologics spiked 3.83 percent and China Resources Land and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and closed in the same fashion.

The Dow stumbled 316.38 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 44,693.91, while the NASDAQ gained 37.94 points or 0.18 percent to close at 21,057.96 and the S&P 500 rose 4.44 points or 0.07 percent to end at 6,363.35.

The strength on Wall Street came on optimism that the U.S. could sign up more deals with its remaining trading partners before President Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline.

As UK, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia have come to an agreement with the U.S. already, Canada, India, South Korea, and the EU are ramping up their efforts. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent reportedly said that the talks were "going better than they had been," and that progress was being made.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said that new home sales in the U.S. rebounded less than expected in June. Also, the Labor Department said U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week.

Crude oil rose on Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles declined more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for September was up $0.87 or 1.33 percent to $66.12 per barrel.