Hong Kong Stock Market Expected To Open In The Red On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in back-to-back sessions, accelerating more than 480 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,680-point plateau although investors may cash in on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Thursday with gains across the board, especially from the properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index surged 518.73 points or 2.71 percent to finish at 19,679.22 after trading between 19,475.68 and 19,735.00.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and Country Garden both spiked 4.09 percent, while Alibaba Health Info added 1.50 percent, ANTA Sports soared 4.92 percent, China Life Insurance collected 2.30 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surged 5.77 percent, China Resources Land gained 1.32 percent, CITIC and New World Development both jumped 2.81 percent, CNOOC dipped 0.10 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical perked 0.24 percent, Galaxy Entertainment strengthened 2.38 percent, Hang Lung Properties rose 0.82 percent, Henderson Land climbed 2.32 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 1.65 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.57 percent, JD.com soared 6.21 percent, Lenovo rallied 3.20 percent, Li Ning skyrocketed 7.39 percent, Meituan surged 6.89 percent, Techtronic Industries improved 1.71 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 4.36 percent and WuXi Biologics advanced 2.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened deep in the red and the losses accelerated as the day progressed.

The Dow tumbled 348.99 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 33,037.49, while the NASDAQ plunged 233.25 points or 2.18 percent to close at 10,476.12 and the S&P 500 dropped 56.05 points or 1.45 percent to end at 3,822.39.

The pullback on Wall Street came as some traders cashed in on Wednesday's gains amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the global economy.

Stocks saw further downside following the release of a report from the Conference Board showing a continued slump by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of November.

Crude oil futures pared early gains and settled lower on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak as the dollar advanced on rate hike bets. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended $0.80 lower at $77.49 a barrel, falling from a high of $79.90 a barrel.