Hong Kong Stock Market May Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, accelerating almost 300 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 17,480-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with solid market leads offset by the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas that erupted over the weekend. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets may follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index jumped 272.08 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 17,485.98 after trading between 17,370.03 and 17,603.80.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group picked up 1.91 percent, while Alibaba Health Info skyrocketed 4.12 percent, ANTA Sports lost 0.24 percent, China Life Insurance added 1.55 percent, China Mengniu Dairy strengthened 1.97 percent, China Resources Land perked 1.00 percent, CITIC improved 1.75 percent, CNOOC fell 0.15 percent, Country Garden soared 2.94 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical jumped 2.08 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gathered 1.10 percent, Hang Lung Properties accelerated 2.29 percent, Henderson Land increased 1.73 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas surged 3.18 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.67 percent, JD.com gained 1.52 percent, Lenovo spiked 2.51 percent, Li Ning was up 0.96 percent, Meituan rallied 2.27 percent, Techtronic Industries rose 1.45 percent, Xiaomi Corporation and Nongfu Spring both advanced 1.71 percent, WuXi Biologics climbed 1.86 percent and New World Development was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness on Friday, quickly moved higher and finished well in the green.

The Dow surged 287.98 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 33,407.58, while the NASDAQ soared 211.54 points or 1.60 percent to end at 13,431.34 and the S&P 500 rallied 50.31 points or 1.18 percent to close at 4,308.50.

For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.6 percent, the S&P added 0.5 percent and the Dow dipped 0.3 percent.

The early weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. surged much more than expected in September.

The report triggered a spike by treasury yields amid renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates, with yields once again soaring to their highest levels in over 16 years. But treasury yields pulled back as the day progressed, fueling the subsequent rebound on Wall Street.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday following recent losses, after data showed stronger than expected growth in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in September. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.48 or 0.6 percent at $82.79 a barrel. But WTI crude futures shed 9 percent in the week.