Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gaining more than 140 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Hang Send Index now sits just beneath the 26,630-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing geopolitical tensions regarding Greenland. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the technology stocks were offset by weakness from the property and financial companies.

For the day, the index rose 44.90 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 26,629.96 after trading between 26,499.14 and 26,779.22.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and JD.com both jumped 0.98 percent, while Alibaba Health Info slumped 1.03 percent, ANTA Sports tanked 2.02 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 3.82 percent, China Mengniu Dairy dropped 0.69 percent, China Resources Land eased 0.07 percent, CNOOC surged 2.52 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical stumbled 2.12 percent, Galaxy Entertainment spiked 1.53 percent, Haier Smart Home retreated 1.79 percent, Hang Lung Properties expanded 0.97 percent, Henderson Land fell 0.20 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.27 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.64 percent, Lenovo dipped 0.12 percent, Li Auto accelerated 4.13 percent, Li Ning soared 1.91 percent, Meituan lost 0.31 percent, New World Development added 0.63 percent, Nongfu Spring was down 0.10 percent, Techtronic Industries gained 0.39 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 0.51 percent, WuXi Biologics rallied 1.46 percent and CITIC was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and spent the entire session in the green.

The Dow jumped 306.78 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 49,384.01, while the NASDAQ climbed 211.20 points or 0.91 percent to end at 23,436.02 and the S&P 500 added 37.73 points or 0.55 percent to close at 6,913.35.

The extended rebound on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from easing tensions after President Donald Trump ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.

Some analysts see the strength on Wall Street as a return of the "TACO trade," meaning "Trump Always Chickens Out," as the president is often seen as backing down after scaring the markets with threats of new tariffs.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said consumer prices increased in line with estimates in November.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday as investors assessed data on U.S. crude oil inventories, which shot up much more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.29 or 2.13 percent at $59.33 per barrel.