Hang Seng May Challenge Resistance At 18,000 Points

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, accelerating more than 700 points or 5.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 17,890-point plateau and it has a positive lead again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index advanced 228.40 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 17,893.10 after trading between 17,889.71 and 18,022.45.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group climbed 1.44 percent, while Alibaba Health Info surged 5.06 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 3.38 percent, China Life Insurance collected 1.51 percent, China Mengniu Dairy increased 0.39 percent, China Resources Land strengthened 2.00 percent, CITIC rose 0.43 percent, CNOOC advanced 1.04 percent, Country Garden jumped 2.48 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical accelerated 3.62 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sank 0.76 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.56 percent, Henderson Land added 0.24 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gathered 0.36 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.81 percent, JD.com improved 1.47 percent, Lenovo perked 0.12 percent, Li Ning skyrocketed 5.34 percent, Meituan spiked 3.74 percent, New World Development fell 0.13 percent, Techtronic Industries lost 0.27 percent, Xiaomi Corporation was up 0.16 percent, WuXi Biologics soared 4.92 percent and Hengan International was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, slipped into the red midday but rallied late to end in positive territory.

The Dow added 65.57 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 33,804.87, while the NASDAQ jumped 96.83 points or 0.71 percent to close at 13,659.68 and the S&P 500 gained 18.71 points or 0.43 percent to end at 4,376.95.

The higher close on Wall Street came amid a continued decline by treasury yields, with yields pulling back further off their highest levels in over 16 years. Treasuries have recently benefited from their appeal as a safe haven amid the deadly conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in September.

The Federal Reserve also released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, reiterating that a majority of participants expect one more interest rate hike will likely be appropriate.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as Saudi Arabia's pledge to help stabilize the market outweighed concerns about supply disruptions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $83.49 a barrel, down $2.48 or 2.9 percent.