Hong Kong Stock Market Poised To Open To The Upside On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, collecting more than 260 points or 1 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 25,500-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on renewed optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index rose 29.33 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 25,498.13 after trading between 25,261.38 and 25,511.84.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group was down 1.30 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 0.57 percent, ANTA Sports contracted 1.20 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.35 percent, China Mengniu Dairy expanded 0.86 percent, China Resources Land skidded 0.95 percent, CITIC slumped 1.16 percent, CNOOC vaulted 0.99 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged 6.52 percent, Galaxy Entertainment lost 0.16 percent, Haier Smart Home dropped 0.68 percent, Hang Lung Properties stumbled 2.91 percent, Henderson Land soared 1,65 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 0.43 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China accelerated 1.49 percent, JD.com eased 0.09 percent, Lenovo retreated 1.88 percent, Li Auto declined 1.64 percent, Li Ning added 0.31 percent, Meituan gained 0.10 percent, New World Development rallied 1.12 percent, Nongfu Spring fell 0.13 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 1.56 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tumbled 2.47 percent and WuXi Biologics advanced 0.55 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, albeit off of session highs.

The Dow added 65.88 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 47,951.85, while the NASDAQ jumped 313.04 points or 1.38 percent to end at 23,006.36 and the S&P 500 gained 53.33 points or 0.79 percent to close at 6,774.76.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department unexpectedly showing a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth.

The tamer-than-expected inflation data has led to renewed confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates next year.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined roughly in line with estimates last week.

Crude oil prices inched higher again on Thursday amid the lingering geopolitical concerns stemming from Venezuela and Russia. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.13 or 0.2 percent at $56.07 a barrel.