Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 750 points or 4.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 18,080-point plateau and it has a positive lead again for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to the improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains across the board, especially among the technology stocks and properties.

For the day, the index surged 682.14 points or 3.92 percent to finish at 18,079.00 after trading between 17,766.22 and 18,102.28.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rallied 5.05 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 3.53 percent, ANTA Sports accelerated 2.19 percent, China Life Insurance soared 6.00 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 5.49 percent, China Resources Land jumped 4.95 percent, CITIC climbed 4.48 percent, CNOOC gathered 2.81 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 6.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rallied 5.42 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 3.97 percent, Hang Lung Properties soared 6.37 percent, Henderson Land strengthened 4.65 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas perked 2.38 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 3.21 percent, JD.com surged 6.38 percent, Lenovo gained 3.71 percent, Li Ning climbed 4.41 percent, Meituan strengthened 4.62 percent, New World Development jumped 4.98 percent, Techtronic Industries skyrocketed 10.47 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 5.93 percent and WuXi Biologics surged 6.07 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed largely in the green although finished with limited gains.

The Dow jumped 163.51 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 34,991.21, while the NASDAQ rose 9.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 14,103.84 and the S&P 500 perked 7.18 points or 0.16 percent to end at 4,502.88.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as the latest inflation data added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates - especially after the Labor Department reported an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in October.

Following Tuesday's tamer than expected consumer price inflation data, the latest report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. edged slightly lower in October.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday after data showed a sharp increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and a big jump in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December lost $1.60 or 2 percent at $76.66 a barrel, falling for the first time in five sessions.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release unemployment data for October later today; in September, the jobless rate was 2.8 percent.