Higher Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market rebounded on Thursday, one day after halting the three-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 700 points or 3.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,950-point plateau and it's got a positive lead again for Friday's trade.

The global forecast is positive after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Thursday with gains across the board, especially among the financials and properties, while the technology stocks were also mostly in the green.

For the day, the index soared 414.96 points or 2.02 percent to finish at 20,053.34 after trading between 20,370.44 and 20,986.31.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group climbed 1.32 percent, while Alibaba Health Info spiked 5.21 percent, ANTA Sports jumped 3.90 percent, China Life Insurance skyrocketed 8.66 percent, China Mengniu Dairy soared 5.33 percent, China Resources Land accelerated 3.57 percent, CITIC surged 5.73 percent, CNOOC rose 0.56 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical strengthened 2.06 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 5.06 percent, Haier Smart Home advanced 1.26 percent, Hang Lung Properties improved 1,17 percent, Henderson Land added 1.16 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.99 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 3.16 percent, JD.com increased 1.05 percent, Lenovo tumbled 2.60 percent, Li Auto accelerated 2.19 percent, Li Ning surged 5.76 percent, Meituan soared 5.60 percent, New World Development climbed 2.02 percent, Nongfu Spring spiked 4.12 percent, Techtronic Industries slumped 1.63 percent, Xiaomi Corporation collected0.91 percent and WuXi Biologics strengthened 2.10 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and ended mostly to the upside, with the NASDAQ and S&P both hitting fresh record closing highs..

The Dow eased 0.59 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 43,729.34, while the NASDAQ surged 285.99 points or 1.51 percent to close at 19,269.46 and the S&P 500 advanced 44.06 points or 0.74 percent to end at 5,973.10.

The continued strength on Wall Street reflected ongoing optimism about the impact of former President Donald Trump's return to the White House, which is expected to be positive for corporations.

Stocks saw continued strength as the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter point.

Oil futures settled notably higher on Thursday as traders weighed the potential impact of Donald Trump's presidency on the geopolitical scene, against the interest rate cut announcement by the Federal Reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed up $0.67 or 0.93 percent at $72.36 a barrel.