Hong Kong Shares May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, improving more than 230 points or 1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 23,575-point plateau although it's expected to open to the downside on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild downside ahead of key inflation data later in the day. The European and U.S. markets saw mild downside and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday as the energy, property and technology sectors were mostly higher, although the financials were weak.

For the day, the index gained 95.48 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 23,578.80 after trading between 23,372.36 and 23,865.62.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group gained 0.46 percent, while Alibaba Health Info fell 0.20 percent, ANTA Sports accelerated 1.65 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 0.64 percent, China Mengniu Dairy soared 5.63 percent, China Resources Land shed 0.39 percent, CITIC rose 0.42 percent, CNOOC and Haier Smart Home both rallied 1.52 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical spiked 4.90 percent, ENN Energy skyrocketed 11.02 percent, Hang Lung Properties retreated 1.35 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 0.76 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.54 percent, JD.com gathered 0.30 percent, Lenovo skidded 1.05 percent, Li Auto added 0.49 percent, Li Ning lost 0.35 percent, Meituan jumped 1.81 percent, New World Development tumbled 1.68 percent, Nongfu Spring climbed 1.19 percent, Techtronic Industries eased 0.10 percent, Xiaomi Corporation plummeted 4.17 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 5.92 percent and Galaxy Entertainment and Henderson Land were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and bounced back and forth across the line before finishing modestly lower.

The Dow dropped 155.09 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 42,299.70, while the NASDAQ slumped 94.98 points or 0.53 percent to close at 17,804.03 and the S&P 500 sank 18.89 points or 0.33 percent to end at 5,693.31.

The lower close on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about President Donald Trump's trade policies after he announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on auto imports.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation later today.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said the economy grew slightly faster than estimated in the fourth quarter of 2024. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales saw a significant rebound in February after plunging to an all-time low in January.

Oil prices moved higher Thursday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.19 or about 0.27 percent at $69.84 a barrel.