Hong Kong Shares May Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight trading days, collecting almost 250 points or 1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 24,140-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on lingering trade concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the property sector.

For the day, the index climbed 111.17 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 24,139.57 after trading between 24,033.12 and 24,506.30.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rallied 1.84 percent, while Alibaba Health Info soared 2.34 percent, ANTA Sports tanked 2.32 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.51 percent, China Mengniu Dairy accelerated 2.01 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 2.16 percent, CITIC dipped 0.18 percent, CNOOC was down 0.11 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical retreated 1.37 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slumped 0.90 percent, Haier Smart Home climbed 1.48 percent, Hang Lung Properties collected 0.54 percent, Henderson Land increased 0.78 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 0.96 percent, JD.com sank 0.24 percent, Lenovo spiked 2.09 percent, Li Auto strengthened 1.49 percent, Li Ning dropped 0.25 percent, Meituan advanced 1.18 percent, New World Development plunged 2.46 percent, Nongfu Spring eased 0.13 percent, Techtronic Industries improved 1.38 percent, Xiaomi Corporation added 0.79 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 3.70 percent and Hong Kong & China Gas was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained under water for almost the entire session.

The Dow dropped 279.09 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 44,371.51, while the NASDAQ sank 45.17 points or 0.22 percent to close at 20,585.53 and the S&P 500 lost 20.71 points or 0.33 percent to end at 6,259.75.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about President Donald Trump's escalating trade battles.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, amidst a lack of major economic data and ahead of earnings season this coming week.

Crude oil rose sharply on Friday after the International Energy Agency upwardly revised its oil supply forecast and also buoyed by lingering geopolitical risks in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed up $1.88 to settle at $68.45 per barrel.