The Hong Kong stock market has shown improvement, rising on two out of the last three trading days after breaking from a brief decline, during which it lost over 55 points or 0.2%. Currently, the Hang Seng Index is positioned just above the 19,760-point threshold and may experience further gains on Monday.
Forecasts for Asian markets remain optimistic, with expected boosts from technology and oil sectors. Despite declines in European markets, U.S. stock indices closed higher, suggesting a positive influence on Asian markets.
On Friday, the Hang Seng Index closed slightly higher, bolstered by the financial, oil, and technology sectors, though the property sector showed mixed results. Specifically, the index gained 136.95 points, or 0.70%, to end at 19,760.27, fluctuating between 19,634.07 and 19,891.86 throughout the day.
Market activity highlighted significant movements: Alibaba Group rose by 1.60%, whereas Alibaba Health Info fell by 0.93%. ANTA Sports saw a slight decrease of 0.26%; China Life Insurance and Henderson Land both advanced by 0.43%. Conversely, China Mengniu Dairy and New World Development dropped 1.79%. China Resources Land advanced 1.13%, while CITIC declined by 0.80%. CNOOC gained 0.74%, CSPC Pharmaceutical dipped 0.86%, and Galaxy Entertainment significantly increased by 2.48%. Haier Smart Home decreased by 1.68%, Hang Lung Properties dropped 2.28%, but Hong Kong & China Gas rose by 0.33%. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 0.82%, JD.com increased by 1.28%, and Lenovo went up by 0.41%. Li Auto and Meituan surged, rising 2.29% and 2.06% respectively. Nongfu Spring grew by 1.51%, Techtronic Industries by 1.19%, Xiaomi Corporation saw a significant jump at 6.62%, and WuXi Biologics improved by 1.07%.
Wall Street presented a positive lead, with major indices opening higher on Friday and maintaining that trajectory to end near the day's upper limits. The Dow surged 339.83 points, or 0.80%, to settle at 42,732.13; the NASDAQ increased by 340.88 points, or 1.77%, to finish at 19,621.68; and the S&P 500 grew by 73.92 points, or 1.26%, closing at 5,942.47.
Despite the week's holiday break, the Dow slipped by 0.6%, while both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 decreased by 0.5%. This strength in the U.S. markets is attributed to traders capitalizing on lower stock levels post recent losses, though some persisted in staying away following the midweek New Year's Day holiday.
Economically, the Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing activity contracted at a slower pace in December.
On the commodities front, oil prices saw an uptick on Friday, reflecting optimism about future demand, supported by data indicating a reduction in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February increased by $0.83, or 1.13%, closing at $73.96 per barrel.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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