(RTTNews) – The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 260 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just shy of the 17,370-point plateau and it’s called higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the prospects for an interest rate cut this week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.
For the day, the index climbed 128.69 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 17,369.09 after trading between 17,298.35 and 17,540.81.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group sank 0.54 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tumbled 1.41 percent, ANTA Sports climbed 1.52 percent, China Life Insurance surged 2.16 percent, China Mengniu Dairy soared 2.09 percent, China Resources Land added 1.03 percent, CITIC rallied 1.65 percent, CNOOC spiked 1.76 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical gathered 0.44 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slumped 1.06 percent, Hang Lung Properties advanced 1.13 percent, Henderson Land and CLP Holdings both perked 0.43 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 1.30 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China accelerated 1.69 percent, JD.com dipped 0.10 percent, Lenovo strengthened 1.54 percent, Li Auto lost 0.47 percent, Li Ning rose 0.62 percent, Meituan collected 0.57 percent, New World Development improved 1.42 percent, Techtronic Industries gained 0.67 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.59 percent and WuXi Biologics retreated 1.20 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and largely remained in the green throughout the trading day.
The Dow rallied 296.98 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 41,393.78, while the NASDAQ jumped 114.28 points or 0.65 percent to end at 17,683.98 and the S&P 500 gained 30.26 points or 0.54 percent to close at 5,626.02.
For the week, the NASDAQ surged 6.0 percent, the S&P spiked 4.0 percent and the Dow improved 2.6 percent.
Optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting this week. The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday and is almost universally expected to lower interest rates by at least 25 basis points.
Adding to the positive sentiment on Wall Street, the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has improved by more than anticipated in September.
Oil futures drifted lower on Friday on reports crude oil production resumed in several facilities along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October sank $0.32 or 0.46 percent at $68.65 a barrel.
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