Rebound Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Friday, one day after ending the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 1,000 points or 7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 15,300-point plateau although it's expected to see renewed support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on earnings expectations and news. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the technology and property stocks were offset by support from the financials and energy companies.

For the day, the index shed 83.11 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 15,308.69 after trading between 15,207.99 and 15,540.75.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and Meituan both retreated 1.65 percent, while Alibaba Health Info declined 1.55 percent, ANTA Sports tumbled 1.72 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.04 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slumped 1.48 percent, China Resources Land dropped 0.65 percent, CITIC fell 0.43 percent, CNOOC sank 0.60 percent, Country Garden plummeted 3.24 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plunged 2.96 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.63 percent, Haier Smart Home climbed 0.94 percent, Hang Lung Properties slid 0.41 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.47 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.53 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.56 percent, JD.com surrendered 2.49 percent, Lenovo advanced 0.83 percent, Li Ning gained 0.50 percent, New World Development eased 0.19 percent, Nongfu Spring rallied 2.32 percent, Techtronic Industries jumped 1.87 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 1.05 percent and WuXi Biologics tanked 2.58 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened slightly higher on Friday but accelerated throughout the day, sending the S&P and Dow to record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 395.20 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 37,863.80, while the NASDAQ surged 255.37 points or 1.70 percent to end at 15,310.97 and the S&P 500 rallied 58.87 points or 1.23 percent to close at 4,839.81.

For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ soared 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 shot up 1.2 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.7 percent.

The run to record highs on Wall Street reflected continued strength among tech stocks ahead of this week's earning news from companies like Intel (INTC), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX).

Meanwhile, the Dow received a boost from a surge by shares of Travelers (TRV), with the insurance giant spiking by 6.7 after the company reported Q4 earnings that exceeded estimates.

Economic data also fueled the rally after the University of Michigan released a report showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment and a continued decrease in inflation expectations.

Crude oil prices turned lower on Friday, reflecting profit taking after recent gains while traders also weighed concerns about Middle East tensions against uncertainty about the outlook for global demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery fell $0.67 or 0.9 percent to $73.41 a barrel. The more actively trade March contract slumped $0.70 or 1.0 percent to $73.25 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see December numbers for consumer prices later today; in November, inflation was flat on month and up 2.6 percent on year.