Win Streak May Continue For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight session, collecting more than 240 points or 1.15 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 21,310-point plateau and it's looking at another solid lead for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after brutal selling over the past week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks, weakness from the oil companies and a mixed picture from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index jumped 240.22 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 21,308.21 after trading between 21,111.32 and 21,431.07.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies advanced 2.73 percent, while Alibaba Group accelerated 4.35 percent, Alibaba Health Info jumped 3.80 percent, ANTA Sports was up 0.23 percent, China Life Insurance soared 5.33 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.77 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slumped 1.38 percent, China Resources Land strengthened 3.40 percent, CITIC gained 1.06 percent, CNOOC retreated 1.43 percent, Country Garden surged 6.23 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.70 percent, Galaxy Entertainment shed 0.24 percent, Hang Lung Properties perked 0.42 percent, Henderson Land fell 0.17 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas skidded 1.29 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.22 percent, JD.com rallied 3.81 percent, Lenovo tanked 3.70 percent, Li Ning improved 2.05 percent, Meituan added 1.34 percent, New World Development declined 1.54 percent, Techtronic Industries plunged 4.51 percent, Xiaomi Corporation climbed 2.95 percent and WuXi Biologics spiked 4.62 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the day, finishing near session highs.

The Dow climbed 303.70 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 30,668.53, while the NASDAQ surged 270.81 points or 2.50 percent to end at 11,099.15 and the S&P 500 jumped 54.51 points or 1.46 percent to close at 3,789.99.

The rally on Wall Street came even as the Federal Reserve announced the biggest increase in interest rates in almost 30 years. The Fed raised the target rate for the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 1.50 to 1.75 percent, marking the biggest rate hike since 1994.

The widely expected move by the Fed comes as a recent report from the Labor Department showed consumer price inflation at the fastest annual rate in 40 years. Citing its goals of maximum employment and inflation at a rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed also indicated that further rate hikes are likely to be appropriate.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in May, while a separate report showed U.S. import prices increased by less than expected. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence fell to its lowest level since June 2020.

Crude oil prices slumped on Wednesday after data showed a jump in oil inventories in the U.S. last week, and the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a sharp 0.75 percent. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped by $2.21 or 1.8 percent to $116.72 a barrel.

Closer to home, the monetary authority in Hong Kong will wrap up its policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates; it's widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 1.25 percent.