Win Streak May Continue For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 550 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng now rests just above the 20,175-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for economic growth and easing inflation. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher on Friday and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and oil companies, while the technology stocks were mixed and the properties were soft.

For the day, the index improved 93.19 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 20,175.62 after trading between 20,011.38 and 20,208.02.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group climbed 1.25 percent, while Alibaba Health Info gained 0.65 percent, ANTA Sports fell 0.06 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.34 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plunged 1.73 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) jumped 1.91 percent, China Resources Land declined 1.15 percent, CITIC slumped 1.05 percent, CNOOC spiked 2.46 percent, Country Garden soared 2.82 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical retreated 1.17 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 0.95 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 0.59 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.18 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 0.62 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.24 percent, JD.com improved 0.63 percent, Lenovo sank 0.28 percent, Li Ning surged 4.78 percent, Longfor shed 0.23 percent, Meituan rallied 1.53 percent, New World Development dropped 0.37 percent, Techtronic Industries plummeted 2.33 percent, Xiaomi Corporation added 0.66 percent and WuXi Biologics tumbled 1.53 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and accelerated as the session progressed, ending near daily highs.

The Dow surged 424/35 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 33,761.05, while the NASDAQ soared 267.29 points or 2.09 percent to end at 13,047.19 and the S&P 500 jumped 72.88 points or 1.73 percent to close at 4,280.15.

For the week, the S&P 500 skyrocketed 3.3 percent for its fourth straight weekly gain, while the NASDAQ spiked 3.1 percent and the Dow gained 2.9 percent.

Optimism that inflation has peaked contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street following tamer than expected readings last week on consumer and producer prices.

Adding to the positive sentiment about inflation, the Labor Department said U.S. import prices fell more than expected in July. Buying interest was also generated by a report from the University of Michigan showing U.S. consumer sentiment has improved much more than expected in August.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Friday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its oil demand forecast for 2022. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $2.25 or 2.4 percent at $92.09 a barrel. For the week, WTI rose 3.5 percent.