Continued Support Seen For Hong Kong Shares
(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in five straight sessions, collecting more than 880 points or 3.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,000-point plateau and it's got a solid lead again for Monday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and energy companies.
For the day, the index spiked 310.97 points or 1.21 percent to finish at the daily high of 26,009.46 after moving as low as 25,807.61.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained solidly in the green throughout the trading day, slightly off session highs.
The Dow rallied 517.80 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 53,277.01, while the NASDAQ climbed 113.29 points or 0.43 percent to end at 26,180.46 and the S&P 500 rose 33.21 points or 0.43 percent to close at 7,674.37.
For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.1 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.4 percent and the Dow slumped 0.9 percent.
The strength on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting after the major averages moved sharply lower on Thursday amid an extended surge in crude oil prices and a rebound in bond yields.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, heightening supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.44 or 0.51 percent at $87.27 per barrel.
