Hong Kong Shares Have Solid Lead For Friday's Trade

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 260 points or 1.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,400-point plateau and it's predicted to move higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued 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 Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index climbed 173.44 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 16,402.19 after trading between 16,319.22 and 16,577.75.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group fell 0.43 percent, while Alibaba Health Info improved 2.39 percent, ANTA Sports picked up 0.76 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.62 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 1.69 percent, China Resources Land added 1.73 percent, CITIC gathered 1.66 percent, CK Infrastructure surged 8.68 percent, CNOOC sank 0.66 percent, Country Garden increased 1.81 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical accelerated 3.60 percent, Galaxy Entertainment was up 0.85 percent, Hang Lung Properties spiked 4.21 percent, Henderson Land climbed 3.36 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas soared 4.63 percent, JD.com perked 0.92 percent, Lenovo rallied 3.52 percent, Li Ning gained 1.70 percent, Meituan lost 0.55 percent, New World Development jumped 3.41 percent, Techtronic Industries skyrocketed 9.97 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 2.70 percent, WuXi Biologics strengthened 3.39 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Haier Smart Home were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, slumped midday but rebounded again to end in the green.

The Dow climbed 158.11 points or 0.43 percent to finish at a fresh record closing high of 37,248.35, while the NASDAQ gained 27.59 points or 0.19 percent to close at 14,761.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.46 points or 0.26 percent to end at 4,719.55.

Stocks continued to benefit from the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, and signaled plans to cut interest rates three times next year.

Adding to optimism the economy is headed toward a soft landing, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in U.S. retail sales in November. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week.

Oil prices surged on Thursday for the second straight day, lifted by a weak dollar and an upward revision in global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas International Crude oil futures for January spiked $2.11 or 3 percent at $71.58 a barrel.