Overbought Hang Seng Called Higher On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, accelerating almost 1,150 points or 5.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 20,050-point plateau and it's looking at a green light again for Friday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Thursday with gains across the board, especially among the technology stocks.

For the day, the index surged 458.21 points or 2.34 percent to finish at 20,049.64 after trading between 19,523.50 and 20,051.26.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group soared 4.04 percent, while Alibaba Health Info spiked 3.70 percent, China Life Insurance strengthened 1.37 percent, China Mengniu Dairy jumped 1.49 percent, China Resources Land rose 0.28 percent, CITIC improved 1.22 percent, CNOOC climbed 0.88 percent, Country Garden rallied 1.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plummeted 7.31 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 0.68 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.40 percent, Henderson Land jumped 1.50 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas perked 0.14 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.18 percent, JD.com spiked 3.86 percent, Lenovo skyrocketed 11.39 percent, Li Ning strengthened 1.16 percent, Meituan surged 8.29 percent, New World Development fell 0.46 percent, Techtronic Industries added 0.58 percent, Xiaomi Corporation soared 7.19 percent, WuXi Biologics rallied 1.60 percent and ANTA Sports was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened firmly higher Thursday, faded into negative territory as the day progressed before a late rally pushed them into the green.

The Dow added 75.14 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 32,105.25, while the NASDAQ surged 117.44 points or 1.01 percent to end at 11,787.40 and the S&P 500 rose 11.75 points or 0.30 percent to close at 3,948.72.

The early rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to react to Wednesday's monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve, which indicated the central bank is nearing the end of its tightening cycle.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as concerns about the recent trouble in the banking sector continue to hang over the markets.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales in the U.S. increased from a significantly downwardly revised level in February.

Oil prices drifted lower Thursday on concerns the interest rate hikes by several central banks could slow down economic growth and impact the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.94 or 1.3 percent at $69.96 a barrel.