Higher Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Friday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 1,400 points or 5.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 24,230-point plateau although it's expected to open to the upside on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index tumbled 138.40 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 24,231.30 after trading between 24,065.01 and 24,669.62.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group sank 0.57 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plunged 2.81 percent, ANTA Sports soared 3.26 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 0.62 percent, China Mengniu Dairy jumped 1.61 percent, China Resources Land retreated 1.30 percent, CITIC rose 0.53 percent, CNOOC added 0.69 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 0.21 percent, Galaxy Entertainment skidded 0.76 percent, Hang Lung Properties tumbled 1.77 percent, Henderson Land shed 0.44 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.32 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slumped 0.88 percent, JD.com plummeted 4.97 percent, Lenovo climbed 0.96 percent, Li Auto gained 0.54 percent, Li Ning surged 4.95 percent, Meituan spiked 1.77 percent, New World Development tanked 2.39 percent, Nongfu Spring rallied 1.49 percent, Techtronic Industries stumbled 2.27 percent, Xiaomi Corporation declined 1.00 percent, WuXi Biologics advanced 0.85 percent and Haier Smart Home and Hengan International were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday, dipped midday but rebounded into the green by the close.

The Dow climbed 222.62 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 42,801.72, while the NASDAQ rallied 126.92 points or 0.70 percent to close at 18,196.22 and the S&P 500 gained 31.68 points or 0.55 percent to end at 5,770.20. For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 3.5 percent, the S&P 500 sank 3.1 percent and the Dow slumped 2.4 percent.

The volatility on Wall followed the release of the closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in February.

While the report added to recent concerns about the strength for the economy, the data may also have generated some optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Bargain hunting contributed to the afternoon recovery, which came even though Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank does not "need to be in a hurry" to adjusted interest rates amid uncertainty about the effects of President Donald Trump's policies.

Crude oil prices faded after an early surge but still remained notably higher on Friday, adding to the modest gain posted in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate for April delivery climbed $0.68 cents or 1.0 percent to $67.04 a barrel.