(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 440 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 23,200-point plateau and it's looking at another positive lead on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing virus concerns, rising crude oil prices and solid economic data. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, properties, casinos and oil companies, while the technology stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index improved 91.31 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 23,193.64 after trading between 23,027.15 and 23,264.75.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies jumped 1.64 percent, while AIA Group perked 0.32 percent, Alibaba Group tumbled 1.39 percent, Alibaba Health Info plummeted 4.20 percent, ANTA Sports and Country Garden both retreated 1.03 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.31 percent, China Mengniu Dairy skidded 1.12 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surged 2.50 percent, China Resources Land accelerated 1.68 percent, CITIC soared 2.12 percent, CNOOC spiked 1.91 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rallied 1.36 percent, Galaxy Entertainment strengthened 1.26 percent, Hang Lung Properties and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China both climbed 1.16 percent, Henderson Land advanced 1.08 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 0.17 percent, Li Ning plunged 3.44 percent, Longfor was up 0.14 percent, Meituan tanked 1.65 percent, New World Development gathered 0.51 percent, Sands China gained 0.58 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 0.54 percent, Techtronic Industries eased 0.07 percent, Xiaomi Corporation added 0.76 percent and WuXi Biologics sank 0.28 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained comfortably in the green throughout the session, ending near record highs.
The Dow jumped 196.67 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 35,950.56, while the NASDAQ climbed 131.48 points or 0.85 percent to close at 15,653.37 and the S&P 500 rose 29.23 points or 0.62 percent to end at 4,725.79. For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ spiked 3.2 percent, the S&P improved 2.3 percent and the Dow gained 1.7 percent.
Easing concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street, as separate studies have indicated the new strain poses a lower risk of severe disease and hospitalization than the Delta variant.
Traders were also reacting to a slew of economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits came in flat last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked much more than expected in November.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department also noted a continued acceleration in the pace of core consumer price growth last month, and also that new home sales skyrocketed.
Crude oil futures extended gains to a third straight day amid hopes about outlook for energy demand as concerns about Omicron variant of the coronavirus faded. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $1.03 or 1.4 percent at $73.79 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
