Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, improving more than 770 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,625 point plateau although it's looking at a soft start on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected amid continued uncertainty over the conflict in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index rallied 412.50 points or 1.57 percent to finish at 26,626.28 after trading between 26,518.79 and 26,669.26.

Among the actives, AIA increased 1.94 percent, while Alibaba Group skyrocketed 4.99 percent, Baidu surged 4.33 percent, Bank of China fell 0.19 percent, BOC Hong Kong collected 1.05 percent, China Construction Bank sank 0.56 percent, China Life Insurance soared 4.28 percent, China Merchants Bank elevated 1.66 percent, China Mobile gathered 0.71 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical retreated 1.27 percent, China Shenhua Energy tanked 4.15 percent, CITIC accelerated 3.07 percent, CNOOC plunged 5.78 percent, Hong Kong Exchange gained 1.38 percent, HSBC added 1.85 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China perked 0.58 percent, JD.com expanded 2.23 percent, Meituan climbed 2.12 percent, NetEase vaulted 2.26 percent, Nongfu Spring advanced 2.08 percent, PetroChina cratered 8.48 percent, Ping An Insurance rallied 2.80 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped 2.54 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties tumbled 1.50 percent, Tencent Holdings spiked 3.11 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rose 0.97 percent, WuXi AppTec improved 2.04 percent and Zijin Mining strengthened 2.31 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but gradually tracked into the red and finished under water.

The Dow dropped 313.62 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 49,596.97, while the NASDAQ dipped 32.75 points or 0.13 percent to close at 25,806.20 and the S&P 500 sank 28.01 points or 0.38 percent to end at 7,337.11.

Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the day as traders remain optimistic about a peaceful end to the conflict in the Middle East but may want to see more tangible results from U.S.-Iran negotiations before making big bets.

But selling pressure picked as crude oil prices saw a substantial turnaround over the course of the day, with U.S. crude oil futures jumping by more than 1 percent following reports that Iran is attempting to force shippers to comply with a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices had moved lower as Iran reviews a peace plan offered by the U.S. to end the gulf war but bounced higher again on supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was at $94.76 per barrel.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded by less than expected in the week ended May 2.