Hong Kong Stock Market Tipped To Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, advancing more than 420 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 19,520-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on growing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher following gains from the technology stocks, weakness from the oil companies and a mixed picture from the property sector.

For the day, the index jumped117.11 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 19,521.42 after trading between 19,273.42 and 19,572.42.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group strengthened 2.02 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 2.51 percent, ANTA Sports dropped 0.71 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.45 percent, China Mengniu Dairy added 0.66 percent, China Resources Land accelerated 2.01 percent, CITIC gained 0.61 percent, CNOOC plunged 3.42 percent, Country Garden soared 3.64 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.30 percent, Galaxy Entertainment improved 0.49 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.15 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.21 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 0.14 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tumbled 1.85 percent, JD.com jumped 2.50 percent, Lenovo skyrocketed 5.61 percent, Li Ning retreated 1.70 percent, Meituan increased 0.31 percent, New World Development advanced 1.25 percent, Techtronic Industries surged 4.25 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 2/63 percent and WuXi Biologics climbed 1.59 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained firmly in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 145.79 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 34,212.12. while the NASDAQ rallied 111.40 points or 0.83 percent to end at 13,573.32 and the S&P 500 gained 30.08 points or 0.69 percent to close at 4,369.01.

The continued strength on Wall Street came following the release of the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in the month of May, which showed prices edged slightly higher.

The data added to optimism about the Federal Reserve pausing its recent interest rate increases when the central bank announces its monetary policy decision later today.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China announced a surprise rate cut, and the dollar weakened after data showing a slowdown in U.S. inflation raised expectations the Fed will pause rate increases. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $2.30 or 3.4 percent at $69.42 a barrel.