Hong Kong Shares Poised To Open To The Upside

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the seven-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 1,700 points or 7.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 24,720-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion. The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, resource stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index spiked 468.80 points or 1.93 percent to finish at 24,718.10 after trading between 24,445.51 and 24,771.61. Among the actives, AIA upgraded 1.08 percent, while Alibaba Group climbed 2.61 percent, Baidu improved 2.21 percent, Bank of China strengthened 2.98 percent, BOC Hong Kong advanced 2.42 percent, China Construction Bank rallied 3.34 percent, China Life Insurance surged 6.58 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 2.49 percent, China Mobile dipped 0.06 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical expanded 2.68 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.22 percent, CITIC vaulted 2.74 percent, CNOOC was up 0.81 percent, Hong Kong Exchange increased 1.76 percent, HSBC jumped 3.10 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China spiked 3.44 percent, JD.com accelerated 3.40 percent, Lenovo Group tumbled 2.36 percent, Meituan sank 0.26 percent, NetEase ascended 0.91 percent, Nongfu Spring soared 3.67 percent, PetroChina gathered 1.37 percent, Ping An Insurance picked up 0.53 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing tanked 2.25 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties added 1.56 percent, Tencent Holdings gained 1.40 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rose 1.39 percent, WuXi AppTec elevated 2.67 percent and Zijin Mining skyrocketed 7.90 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages shook off early weakness on Friday before trending higher to finish firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 353.51 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 51,202.26, while the NASDAQ added 79.18 points or 0.31 percent to close at 25,888.84 and the S&P 500 collected 37.16 points or 0.50 percent to end at 7,431.46.

Optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East contributed to continued strength on Wall Street, although traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid conflicting comments from President Donald Trump.

Reports have indicated the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding calls for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened immediately without tolls and for Iran to receive sanctions relief based on compliance.

Traders also kept an eye on shares of SpaceX (SPCX), with the rocket maker making its debut on the NASDAQ in the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. SpaceX soared by 19.3 percent on the day.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Friday after Trump claimed that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen, resulting in waning supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery sank $2.86 or 3.26 percent at $84.85 per barrel.