Hong Kong Stock Market May See Further Upside

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 1,300 points or 6.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,260-point plateau and it figures to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the health of the financial sector. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index jumped 258.05 points or 1.36 percent to finish at 19,258.76 after trading between 19,018.10 and 19,295.64.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 1.64 percent, while Alibaba Health Info soared 2.07 percent, ANTA Sports skyrocketed 9.23 percent, China Mengniu Dairy strengthened 1.22 percent, China Resources Land added 0.43 percent, CITIC advanced 0.79 percent, CNOOC eased 0.18 percent, Country Garden rallied 1.57 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged 5.16 percent, Galaxy Entertainment jumped 1.30 percent, Hang Lung Properties retreated 1.35 percent, Henderson Land sank 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas tumbled 2.11 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.95 percent, JD.com fell 0.20 percent, Li Ning surged 5.67 percent, Meituan climbed 0.93 percent, Techtronic Industries improved 0.77 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 1.63 percent, WuXi Biologics skyrocketed 8.86 percent and China Life Insurance, New World Development and Lenovo were unchanged.

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

The Dow surged 316.02 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 32,560.60, while the NASDAQ spiked 184.57 points or 1.58 percent to end at 11,860.11 and the S&P 500 climbed 51.30 points or 1.30 percent to end at 4,002.87.

The extended rally on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following recent steps taken to rescue distressed banks in the U.S. and Europe.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to remarks by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said the government is prepared to once again take action to protect bank depositors if smaller lenders are threatened.

Traders also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement later today. While the recent banking turmoil led to some speculation the Fed may leave interest rates unchanged, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.4 percent chance of a 25-basis point rate hike.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Tuesday, gaining for a second straight session amid improving risk sentiment thanks to the coordinated efforts by major central banks to rescue troubled U.S. and European lenders. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $1.69 or 2.5 percent at $69.33 a barrel.