Win Streak May Continue For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for National Day, the Hong Kong stock market had moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing almost 720 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,850-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks and financial shares, while the property sector came in mixed.

For the day, the index gained 232.68 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 26,855.56 after trading between 26,558.28 and 26,888.40.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 2.08 percent, while Alibaba Health Info strengthened 1.83 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 2.02 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.54 percent, China Mengniu Dairy advanced 1.01 percent, China Resources Land jumped 1.95 percent, CITIC improved 0.88 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.24 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.54 percent, Galaxy Entertainment stumbled 1.43 percent, Haier Smart Home shed 0.78 percent, Hang Lung Properties added 0.69 percent, Henderson Land dropped 0.94 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 0.88 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.17 percent, JD.com climbed 1.39 percent, Lenovo perked 0.09 percent, Li Auto accelerated 2.89 percent, Li Ning soared 2.68 percent, Meituan expanded 1.65 percent, New World Development fell 0.38 percent, Nongfu Spring gained 0.56 percent, Techtronic Industries vaulted 1.27 percent, Xiaomi Corporation increased 0.84 percent and WuXi Biologics surged 3.48 percent.

The lead from Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday but trended higher through the session and ended with modest gains.

The Dow added 43.21 points or 0.09 percent to finish at a record 46,441.10, while the NASDAQ gained 95.15 points or 0.42 percent to close at 22.755.16 and the S&P 500 rose 22.74 points or 0.34 percent to end at 6,711.20, also a record.

The initial pullback came after the U.S. government officially shut down early this morning after lawmakers failed to pass a temporary spending bill.

However, the early selling pressure was offset by optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the release of disappointing private sector employment data.

The subsequent turnaround also came as analysts pointed out that the markets have historically not been materially impacted by government shutdowns.

Crude oil prices fell sharply again Wednesday on concerns of excess supply after OPEC said it will hike output more than expected in November. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down by $0.60 or 0.96 percent at $61.77 per barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release August numbers for retail sales later today; in July, sales were up 1.8 percent on year.