Hong Kong Shares May Head South On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, rallying more than 500 points or 2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 25,750-point plateau although it may see renewed consolidation on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging oil prices and the ongoing war in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and technology stock, while the property sector was mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 435.95 points or 1.72 percent to finish at 25,757.29 after trading between 25,267.63 and 25,806.72.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 3.48 percent, while Alibaba Health Info accelerated 3.22 percent, ANTA Sports improved 2.16 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.63 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surged 6.95 percent, China Resources Land climbed 2.45 percent, CITIC fell 0.25 percent, CNOOC slumped 0.89 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical jumped 2.97 percent, ENN Energy tanked 2.15 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 0.16 percent, Haier Smart Home added 1.13 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 1.05 percent, Henderson Land stumbled 2.24 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 0.27 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.79 percent, JD.com skyrocketed 9.95 percent, Lenovo increased 2.06 percent, Li Auto vaulted 2.82 percent, Li Ning advanced 2.40 percent, Meituan rallied 3.15 percent, New World Development dropped 0.73 percent, Nongfu Spring strengthened 2.87 percent, Techtronic Industries tumbled 1.98 percent, Xiaomi Corporation soared 3.79 percent and WuXi Biologics expanded 2.54 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained under water throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow dropped 453.19 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 47,501.55, while the NASDAQ tumbled 361.31 points or 1.59 percent to close at 22,387.68 and the S&P 500 sank 90.69 points or 1.33 percent to end at 6,740.02.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid an extended surge by the price of crude oil. Crude oil has skyrocketed over the past week as the U.S.-Iran conflict spreads across the Middle East, leading to concerns about a global energy crisis.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday after Qatar warned of a production halt in the gulf as the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has heavily disrupted energy supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $9.88 or 12.20 percent at $90.89 per barrel.

As the Middle East conflict entered its seventh day, Israel intensified air strikes on Iran, while the U.S. said its attacks on Iran are going to "surge dramatically."

Negative sentiment was also generated by the watched Labor Department report showing U.S. unemployment unexpectedly in February. The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4 percent in February from 4.3 percent in January.