Hang Seng May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, climbing more than 975 points or 3.9 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 25,940-point plateau and it may see additional strength on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on growing optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial and oil companies, while the properties and technology stocks were also mostly in the green.

For the day, the index spiked 304.22 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 25,938.13 after trading between 25,675.28 and 26,027.94.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 3.35 percent, while Alibaba Health Info skyrocketed 10.02 percent, ANTA Sports expanded 1.62 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.89 percent, China Mengniu Dairy increased 0.33 percent, China Resources Land spiked 3.26 percent, CITIC slumped 1.08 percent, CNOOC added 0.30 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 3.14 percent, Haier Smart Home and ENN Energy Holdings both advanced 0.93 percent, Hang Lung Properties improved 1.18 percent, Henderson Land and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China both strengthened 1.73 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 0.14 percent, JD.com soared 3.32 percent, Lenovo climbed 1.31 percent, Li Auto accelerated 3.15 percent, Li Ning sank 0.16 percent, Meituan tanked 2.30 percent, New World Development retreated 1.88 percent, Nongfu Spring jumped 1.97 percent, Techtronic Industries rose 0.05 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rallied 2.65 percent, WuXi Biologics stumbled 3.39 percent and Galaxy Entertainment was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Tuesday and trended generally higher to finish at record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 196.39 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 45,711.34, while the NASDAQ improved 80.79 points or 0.37 percent to close at 21,193.11 and the S&P 500 gained 17.46 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,512.61.

The strength on Wall Street reflected ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of closely watched inflation data in the coming days. The Labor Department is scheduled to release reports on producer price inflation and consumer price inflation today and tomorrow, respectively.

While last Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs data increased confidence that the Fed will cut interest rates at its meeting next week, the inflation data could influence how aggressively the central bank lowers rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said non-farm employment for the 12 months through March 2025 was downwardly revised by 911,000 jobs, also fueling optimism for a rate cut.

Crude oil advanced on Tuesday, extending gains for the second day amid increasing expectations of western sanctions against Russia, while the Israeli attack on Qatar added support to oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.29 or 0.47 percent at $62.55 per barrel.