Hong Kong Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after halting the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 825 points or 3.9 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 21,270-point plateau and now it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with bargain hunting expected to lift the oversold bourses - particularly among the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the property stocks, oil companies and technology shares.

For the day, the index surged 265.53 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 21,273.87 after trading between 21,010.89 and 21,443.59.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies plunged 4.08 percent, while Alibaba Group skyrocketed 6.40 percent, Alibaba Health Info surged 3.97 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.83 percent, China Life Insurance collected 3.22 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.86 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rallied 1.46 percent, China Resources Land spiked 3.24 percent, CITIC increased 0.90 percent, CNOOC jumped 1.73 percent, Country Garden gathered 0.47 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 3.96 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.74 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 0.97 percent, Henderson Land perked 0.17 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.60 percent, JD.com advanced 1.16 percent, Lenovo improved 1.10 percent, Li Ning climbed 1.18 percent, Meituan rose 0.52 percent, New World Development gained 0.54 percent, Techtronic Industries was up 0.12 percent, Xiaomi Corporation accelerated 1.89 percent, WuXi Biologics strengthened 1.23 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, swooned midday before accelerating higher into the close.

The Dow jumped 194.23 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 30,677.36, while the NASDAQ spiked 179.11 points or 1.62 percent to end at 11,232.19 and the S&P 500 gained 35.94 points or 0.95 percent to close at 3,795.73.

The markets continued to experience choppy trading as traders weighed going bargain hunting following recent weakness against the possibility of a global recession.

Traders kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, with the Fed chief reiterating his commitment to moving quickly to bring inflation back down. But the Fed's plans to aggressively raise interest rates to combat inflation has led to concerns tighter monetary policy will tip the economy into a recession.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower last week.

Oil futures slid on Thursday, losing ground for a second straight session on concerns about outlook for energy demand amid rising possibility of a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $1.92 or 1.8 percent at $104.27 a barrel.