Hong Kong Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 600 points or 3.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 15,560-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with many believing that the heavy selling earlier this week was overdone. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the technology stocks, entertainment companies and properties.

For the day, the index gained 81.14 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 15,566.21 after trading between 15,434.82 and 15,805.06.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group climbed 2.16 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 2.45 percent, ANTA Sports lost 0.69 percent, China Life Insurance collected 1.00 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 2.55 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.48 percent, CITIC dropped 0.80 percent, CNOOC and Country Garden both slumped 0.97 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical advanced 1.57 percent, Galaxy Entertainment surged 5.91 percent, Hang Lung Properties rose 0.22 percent, Henderson Land increased 0.74 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas perked 0.18 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.79 percent, JD.com improved 0.81 percent, Li Ning skyrocketed 6.14 percent, Meituan accelerated 2.48 percent, New World Development jumped 2.40 percent, Techtronic Industries strengthened 2.22 percent, Xiaomi Corporation added 0.49 percent, WuXi Biologics soared 3.17 percent and Lenovo Group was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday and largely accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow rallied 369.54 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 38,519.84, while the NASDAQ jumped 197.63 points or 1.30 percent to end at 15,361.64 and the S&P 500 gained 60.54 points or 1.25 percent to close at 4,906.19.

The rebound on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels after Wednesday's selloff. The Federal Reserve signals that an interest rate cut in March is unlikely, but economists believe it is a matter of "when, not if" the central bank will eventually lower rates.

A continued decrease by treasury yields may also have contributed to the buying interest, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note falling to its lowest levels in over a month.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly saw a modest increase last week. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity increased in January but continues to indicate contraction.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday with traders following the negotiations of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, although a possible pick-up in energy demand helped limit the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March sank $2.03 or 2.7 percent at $73.82 a barrel.