The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 1,100 points or 6.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 17,280-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is sift on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the properties and technology stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 83.27 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 17,284.54 after trading between 17,109.57 and 17,438.83.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group improved 0.69 percent, while ANTA Sports sank 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance and CLP Holdings both advanced 0.80 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 1.25 percent, China Resources Land soared 2.96 percent, CITIC jumped 1.37 percent, CNOOC rallied 1.50 percent, Country Garden climbed 0.86 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged 4.82 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.14 percent, Hang Lung Properties and Xiaomi Corporation both lost 0.36 percent, Henderson Land accelerated 1.51 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas strengthened 1.35 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.72 percent, JD.com perked 0.09 percent, Lenovo spiked 1.97 percent, Li Ning rose 0.10 percent, Meituan tumbled 1.85 percent, New World Development slumped 0.63 percent, Techtronic Industries fell 0.19 percent, WuXi Biologics declined 1.24 percent and Alibaba Health Info was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained solidly in the red throughout the session.
The Dow plunged 375.12 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 38,085.80, while the NASDAQ tumbled 100.99 points or 0.64 percent to close at 15,611.76 and the S&P 500 sank 23.21 points or 0.46 percent to end at 5,048.42.
A negative reaction to earnings news from Meta Platforms (META) and tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM) contributed to the early sell-off on Wall Street.
In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. economy grew by much less than expected in the first quarter of 2024. Also, the Commerce Department said the personal consumption expenditures price index climbed more than expected.
Both of those economic results were bad news for investors as they damaged the likelihood of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the near future.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, recovering from recent losses, despite data showing slower than expected U.S. first-quarter GDP growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.76 or about 0.92% at $83.57 a barrel.
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