Hong Kong Stock Market Draws Strong Lead For Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 300 points or 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,210 point plateau and it's likely to climb higher again on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on hopes for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies. For the day, the index rallied 315.17 points or 1.22 percent to finish at the daily high of 26,213.78 after trading as low as 25,877.82. Among the actives, AIA improved 1.80 percent, while Alibaba Group expanded 2.29 percent, Baidu rallied 4.94 percent, Bank of China climbed 1.98 percent, BOC Hong Kong advanced 1.93 percent, China Construction Bank collected 1.71 percent, China Life Insurance strengthened 2.68 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.13 percent, China Mobile gained 1.01 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical vaulted 2.39 percent, China Shenhua Energy fell 0.21 percent, CITIC jumped 3.09 percent, CNOOC stumbled 1.82 percent, Hong Kong Exchange and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China both gathered 0.72 percent, HSBC accelerated 3.31 percent, JD.com and NetEase both perked 0.17 percent, Meituan slumped 1.26 percent, Nongfu Spring rose 0.88 percent, Ping An Insurance added 1.10 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing surged 5.72 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties soared 5.48 percent, Tencent Holdings tumbled 1.95 percent, Xiaomi Corporation increased 1.18 percent, WuXi AppTec sank 0.22 percent, Zijin Mining spiked 5.07 percent and PetroChina was unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and continued to pick up steam as the day progressed, ending at session highs. The Dow spiked 612.34 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 49,910.59, while the NASDAQ rallied 512.82 points or 2.02 percent to end at 25,838.94 and the S&P 500 jumped 105.90 points or 1.46 percent to close at 7,365.12. The rally on Wall Street came amid optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East after reports said the White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding. Adding to the optimism about a peace deal, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pause its efforts to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed. On the U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. jumped more than expected in April. Crude oil prices went into freefall after Trump indicated the U.S. and Iran may reach a deal soon. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $7.83 or 7.66 percent at $94.44 per barrel. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.