Hang Seng May Breach 27,000-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing almost 675 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,920-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the end of the U.S. government shutdown. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks, entertainment companies and technology issues.

For the day, the index gained 226.32 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 26,922.73 after trading between 26,739.09 and 27,016.40.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group stumbled 2.24 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 1.56 percent, ANTA Sports gathered 0.79 percent, China Life Insurance skyrocketed 4.30 percent, China Mengniu Dairy expanded 0.40 percent, China Resources Land soared 3.58 percent, CITIC perked 0.31 percent, CNOOC strengthened 2.50 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical improved 1.32 percent, Galaxy Entertainment spiked 3.47 percent, Haier Smart Home rallied 3.08 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 3.09 percent, Henderson Land vaulted 2.17 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.93 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.39 percent, JD.com increased 1.30 percent, Lenovo added 1.29 percent, Li Auto was up 0.25 percent, Li Ning gained 0.96 percent, Meituan fell 0.20 percent, New World Development accelerated 3.18 percent, Nongfu Spring surged 3.79 percent, Techtronic Industries slumped 1.38 percent, Xiaomi Corporation expanded 1.68 percent and WuXi Biologics picked up 0.36 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is contradictory as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but took different paths to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow jumped 326.86 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 48,254.82, while the NASDAQ slipped 61.84 points or 0.26 percent to close at 23,406.46 and the S&P 500 rose 4.31 points or 0.06 percent to end at 6,850.92.

The continued advance by the Dow came amid strong gains by UnitedHealth (UNH), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). But continued decline by the tech-heavy NASDAQ reflected lingering valuation concerns.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, where the House of Representatives will vote on a bill ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

After the Senate voted Monday to approve the bill extending funding for most agencies until January 30, the House is set to vote on the legislation within the next few hours.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday after OPEC's monthly report suggested that global supply now exceeds demand by about 500,000 barrels per day. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $2.62 or 4.31 percent at $58.40 per barrel.