Hang Seng May Hand Back Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 565 points or 2.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just shy of the 26,340-point plateau, although it's likely to head south again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is uncertain amidst geopolitical concerns in South America. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the somewhat overbought Asian bourses are expected to open in mixed fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday with gains across the board, especially among the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index surged 707.97 points or 2.76 percent to finish at 26,338.47 after trading between 25,717.42 and 26,345.63

Among the actives, Alibaba Group soared 4.34 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 3.17 percent, ANTA Sports gained 1.68 percent, China Life Insurance skyrocketed 5.33 percent, China Mengniu Dairy ticked higher 0.13 percent, China Resources Land added 1.91 percent, CITIC advanced 2.65 percent, CNOOC improved 2.63 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical moved up 0.59 percent, Galaxy Entertainment was up 0.84 percent, Haier Smart Home spiked 4.20 percent, Hang Lung Properties picked up 1.28 percent, Henderson Land climbed 2.91 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gathered 1.43 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.79 percent, JD.com vaulted 3.14 percent, Lenovo expanded 3.13 percent, Li Auto surged 4.93 percent, Li Ning lost 0.59 percent, Meituan perked 1.26 percent, New World Development rose 1.65 percent, Nongfu Spring jumped 3.07 percent, Techtronic Industries strengthened 2.95 percent, Xiaomi Corporation increased 2.49 percent and WuXi Biologics accelerated 3.50 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly upbeat as the major averages spent most of Friday's session hugging the line for much of the day before finishing mostly in the green.

The Dow climbed 319.09 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 48,382.39, while the NASDAQ dipped 6.37 points or 0.03 percent to close at 23,235.63 and the S&P 500 added12.97 points or 0.19 percent to end at 6,858.47.

For the week, the NASDAQ dropped 1.5 percent, the S&P sank 1.0 percent and the Dow lost 0.7 percent.

The lackluster performance by the broader markets came as some traders remained away from their desks following the New Year's Day holiday on Thursday.

Geopolitical concerns may weigh on sentiment after the U.S. carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela. That country's leader, President Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife, had been captured and flown out of Venezuela.

Crude oil prices ticked lower on Friday ahead of Sunday's OPEC meeting, with West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery dipping $0.12 or 0.2 percent to $57.30. On Sunday, OPEC decided to keep output levels unchanged, as expected. For 2025, crude fell almost 20 percent.