Hong Kong Inherits Firm Lead For Friday's Trade

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, spiking more than 740 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 20,310-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing concerns over the health of the banking sector. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index climbed 116.73 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 20,309.13 after trading between 20,017.17 and 20,320.02.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 2.49 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plummeted 7.92 percent, ANTA Sports jumped 1.57 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 5.62 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tanked 3.41 percent, China Resources Land surged 2.66 percent, CITIC rose 0.22 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 7.44 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 0.40 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.39 percent, Henderson Land dipped 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas was down 0.29 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.47 percent, JD.com soared 2.58 percent, Lenovo tumbled 2.32 percent, Li Ning slumped 0.57 percent, Meituan climbed1.43 percent, New World Development declined 0.24 percent, Techtronic Industries eased 0.23 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gained 0.33 percent, WuXi Biologics rallied 1.75 percent and CNOOC, Hang Lung Properties and CK Infrastructure were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Thursday, faded as the day progressed but still ended well in positive territory.

The Dow jumped 141.43 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 32,859.03, while the NASDAQ gained 87.24 points or 0.73 percent to close at 12,013.47 and the S&P 500 added 23.02 points or 0.57 percent to end at 4,050.83.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as concerns about turmoil in the banking sector continued to ease after sparking substantial volatility on Wall Street in recent weeks.

Traders also looked ahead to today's report on personal income and spending, which includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve and could have an impact on the outlook for interest rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew slightly less than estimated in Q4 of 2022.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Thursday on easing concerns over turmoil in the banking sector and supply disruptions in Turkey. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.40 or 1.9 percent at $74.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release February figures for retail sales later today; in January, sales were up 7.0 percent on year.