Hong Kong Shares Predicted To See Continued Strength

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Friday emphatically halted the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 500 points or 3.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 17,325-point plateau and it's called to open higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains upbeat on optimism for the outlook of interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished with huge gains on Friday amid strength in all sectors, especially the properties and technology shares.

For the day, the index skyrocketed 1,244.62 points or 7.74 percent to finish at 17,325.66 after trading between 16,829.00 and 17,368.04.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group soared 12.38 percent, while Alibaba Health Info spiked 9.64 percent, ANTA Sports strengthened 7.65 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 7,06 percent, China Mengniu Dairy improved 3.69 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was up 1.49 percent, China Resources Land and ENN Energy both rallied 9.52 percent, CITIC added 3.54 percent, CNOOC gained 2.18 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 20.92 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 1.50 percent, Galaxy Entertainment strengthened 8.28 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 8.98 percent, Henderson Land climbed 7.19 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 4.87 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 4.78 percent, JD.com soared 16.10 percent, Lenovo improved 3.91 percent, Li Ning surged 12.76 percent, Longfor skyrocketed 29.08 percent, Meituan rallied 12.47 percent, New World Development jumped 12.19 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 14.34 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 4.46 percent and WuXi Biologics surged 16.46 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened mixed on Friday, with the Dow spending most of the session in negative territory before breaking into the green late in the day.

The Dow rose 32.49 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 33,747.86, while the NASDAQ surged 209.18 points or 1.88 percent to close at 11,323.33 and the S&P 500 advanced 36.56 points or 0.92 percent to end at 3,992.93.

For the week, the NASDAQ skyrocketed 8.1 percent, the S&P 500 soared 5.9 percent and the Dow jumped 4.2 percent.

The extended rally on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from optimism about the Federal Reserve slowing the pace of interest rate hikes following Thursday's tamer than expected inflation data.

On the heels of the inflation data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 80.6 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by 50 basis points next month compared to the recent 75 basis point rate hikes.

Crude oil prices spiked on Friday, supported by a weak dollar and reports about China cutting quarantine restrictions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $2.49 or 2.9 percent at $88.96 a barrel.