Higher Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market rebounded again on Thursday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 210 points or 1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 20,350-point plateau and it's looking at a green light again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to easing concerns over inflation and 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 slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, losses from the properties and a mixed picture from the technology shares.

For the day, the index picked up 34.62 points or 0.17 percent to finish at the daily high of 20,344.48 after moving as low as 19,885.53.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group retreated 1.98 percent, while Alibaba Health Info jumped 1.71 percent, ANTA Sports dropped 1.25 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.46 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 1.85 percent, China Resources Land sank 0.90 percent, CITIC eased 0.11 percent, CNOOC rallied 1.62 percent, Country Garden advanced 0.68 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 1.89 percent, Galaxy Entertainment declined 1.72 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.13 percent, Henderson Land skidded 1.44 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.15 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.24 percent, JD.com tumbled 2.03 percent, Lenovo slumped 1.53 percent, Li Ning surged 2.41 percent, Meituan eased 0.08 percent, New World Development shed 0.69 percent, Techtronic Industries added 0.61 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gained 0.33 percent and WuXi Biologics skyrocketed 7.81 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 383.19 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 34,029.69, while the NASDAQ spiked 236.93 points or 1.99 percent to end at 12,166.27 and the S&P 500 jumped54.27 points or 1.33 percent to close at 4,146.22.

The rally on Wall Street came following a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in March.

Combined with Wednesday's tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data, the report helped ease concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

A separate Labor Department report showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday as weak data and worries about a U.S. recession raised concerns about the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May slumped $1.10 or 1.3 percent at $82.16 a barrel.