The Hong Kong stock market has experienced a robust upward trend over the past three trading sessions, accumulating over 1,675 points or a rise of 8.7%. The Hang Seng Index is currently positioned just below the 19,925-point mark, though profit-taking is anticipated as the session progresses on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains positive, driven by continued optimism regarding interest rate projections. Both European and U.S. markets posted gains, and Asian markets are expected to follow this trend, albeit with the likelihood of profit-taking later in the day.
On Thursday, the Hang Seng Index saw a significant increase, with gains observed across various sectors, notably in financial, property, and technology stocks.
For the day, the index surged by 795.48 points or 4.16%, closing at 19,924.58, after fluctuating between 19,176.58 and 19,954.06.
Breaking down individual stock performance:
- Alibaba Group rose by 7.06%
- Alibaba Health Information spiked 9.86%
- ANTA Sports surged 13.98%
- China Life Insurance climbed 4.95%
- China Mengniu Dairy soared 11.99%
- China Resources Land skyrocketed 21.51%
- CITIC gained 3.18%
- CNOOC fell by 6.50%
- CSPC Pharmaceutical advanced 4.20%
- Galaxy Entertainment accelerated 9.97%
- Haier Smart Home strengthened 5.72%
- Hang Lung Properties jumped 7.65%
- Henderson Land was up 0.98%
- Hong Kong & China Gas declined by 0.31%
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China increased by 1.05%
- JD.com spiked 10.10%
- Lenovo climbed 4.67%
- Li Auto rose 8.15%
- Li Ning surged 15.03%
- Meituan rallied 7.71%
- New World Development increased by 2.50%
- Nongfu Spring soared 12.89%
- Techtronic Industries added 3.33%
- Xiaomi Corporation advanced 4.62%
- WuXi Biologics improved 3.43%
Wall Street also presented an optimistic outlook as major indexes opened higher on Thursday and sustained a positive trend throughout the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied by 260.36 points or 0.62% to close at 42,175.11. The NASDAQ Composite climbed by 108.09 points or 0.60% to finish at 18,190.29, while the S&P 500 added 23.11 points or 0.40% to end at 5,745.37.
The early rally on Wall Street was bolstered by the tech sector, particularly led by chipmaker Micron (MU) reporting better-than-expected quarterly results and providing strong fiscal revenue guidance.
Further support came from encouraging U.S. economic data. The Labor Department reported a surprising decrease in first-time claims for unemployment benefits for the previous week. Additionally, the Commerce Department indicated that new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods remained steady in August.
On the commodities front, oil prices experienced a sharp decline on Thursday due to concerns over an expected increase in supply. Reports indicated that OPEC would reintegrate 2.2 million barrels per day of previously cut production back into the market. Consequently, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November dropped by $2.02 or 2.9%, settling at $67.67 a barrel.
