Hong Kong Stock Market Has A Green Light For Monday's Trade

The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 750 points or 3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,420-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on optimism for economic recovery, although a rising number of coronavirus cases may limit the upside. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the property stocks and casinos were capped by mixed performances from the financials and oil and insurance companies.

For the day, the index climbed 140.91 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 25,422.06 after trading between 25,258.16 and 25,749.40.

Among the actives, China Mengniu Dairy skyrocketed 10.42 percent, while AIA Group surged 4.06 percent, Tencent Holdings plunged 3.14 percent, Hang Seng Bank soared 2.92 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 2.91 percent, Sands China accelerated 1.95 percent, Hang Lung Properties rallied 1.84 percent, WH Group jumped 1.80 percent, AAC Technologies tumbled 1.71 percent, Galaxy Entertainment climbed 1.67 percent, New World Development gathered 1.62 percent, Wharf Real Estate perked 1.55 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 1.09 percent, China Resources Land added 0.96 percent, CNOOC sank 0.91 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.75 percent, BOC Hong Kong rose 0.68 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.66 percent, Power Assets gained 0.57 percent, Sino Land increased 0.55 percent, Hengan International improved 0.48 percent, China Mobile fell 0.27 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.24 percent, Ping An Insurance eased 0.12 percent and CITIC and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved higher on Friday, sending the NASDAQ and S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 161.60 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 28,653.87, while the NASDAQ gained 70.30 points or 0.60 percent to end at 11,695.63 and the S&P 500 rose 23.46 points or 0.67 percent to close at 3,508.01. For the week, the Dow gained 2.6 percent, the NASDAQ rose 3.4 percent and the S&P was up 3.3 percent.

The support on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's announcement of the central bank's adoption of average inflation targeting. Powell's comments on Thursday were seen as an indication the Fed will leave interest rates at near-zero levels for the foreseeable future even if there is an acceleration in the pace of inflation.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected increase in personal income in July. Also, the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved by more than estimated in August.

Crude oil prices ended slightly lower on Friday, as worries about the near-term energy demand outlook amid a surge in new coronavirus cases weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended down $0.07 or 0.2 percent at $42.97 a barrel.