Higher Open Again Called For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 600 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 16,830-point plateau and it's tipped to see additional support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over earnings season. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday with gains across the board, especially among the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index rallied 317.24 points or 1.92 percent to finish at 16,828.93 after trading between 16,599.21 and 16,846.13.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group strengthened 1.97 percent, while Alibaba Health Info gathered 1.13 percent, ANTA Sports climbed 1.93 percent, China Life Insurance rose 1.39 percent, China Mengniu Dairy jumped 2.06 percent, China Resources Land rallied 2.09 percent, CITIC picked p 0.56 percent, CNOOC added 1.43 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical was up 0.83 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 1.01 percent, Hang Lung Properties shed 0.60 percent, Henderson Land advanced 1.55 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 1.57 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.49 percent, JD.com surged 6.07 percent, Lenovo improved 1.60 percent, Li Ning soared 5.71 percent, Meituan skyrocketed 7.95 percent, New World Development accelerated 2.65 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 2.14 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 2.28 percent, WuXi Biologics gained 1.41 percent and Country Garden was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained well in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 263.71 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 38,503.69, while the NASDAQ spiked 245.33 points or 1.59 percent to end at 15,696.64 and the S&P 500 rallied 59.95 points or 1.20 percent to close at 5,070.55.

Quarterly earnings guided the markets, with Globe Life, GE Aerospace, Kimberly-Clark and General Motors advancing on strong results.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales jumped more than expected in March, although building permits slumped.

Traders await more economic data this week, including the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday after data showed a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing activity in April, raising hopes the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates soon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June rose $1.46 or 1.78 percent at $83.36 a barrel.