Soft Start Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 260 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 15,425-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the oil companies and mixed performances from the properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index improved 110.27 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 15,427.94 after trading between 15,410.97 and 15,833.28.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 4.09 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 1.12 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 0.94 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.89 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 0.36 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.60 percent, China Resources Land skidded 0.92 percent, CITIC retreated 1.07 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.72 percent, Country Garden plunged 4.49 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tanked 3.68 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 1.20 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 1.51 percent, Henderson Land improved 0.49 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.48 percent, JD.com skyrocketed 5.86 percent, Lenovo soared 3.53 percent, Li Ning declined 1,51 percent, Longfor plummeted 5.13 percent, Meituan spiked 1.62 percent, New World Development tumbled 1.91 percent, Techtronic Industries dipped 0.13 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gained 0.55 percent, WuXi Biologics sank 0.63 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.