The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last eight trading days since the end of the seven-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 1,950 points or 7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 29,450-point plateau and it's tipped to add to its winnings on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is upbeat on falling treasury yields and vaccine optimism. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the technology stocks and casinos, while the financials and properties were soft.
For the day, the index surged 472.36 points or 1.63 percent to finish at 29,452.57 after trading between 29,195.97 and 29,550.75.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies gathered 1.44 percent, while AIA Group spiked 2.94 percent, Alibaba Group added 0.95 percent, ANTA Sports surged 7.73 percent, BOC Hong Kong skidded 1.36 percent, China Life Insurance slid 0.37 percent, China Mengniu Dairy climbed 1.53 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and Power Assets both lost 0.70 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.49 percent, CITIC fell 0.46 percent, CNOOC dropped 1.08 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical perked 1.11 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 2.19 percent, Hang Lung Properties sank 1.29 percent, Henderson Land shed 0.74 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas tanked 1.54 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.40 percent, Meituan skyrocketed 7.88 percent, New World Development plunged 2.41 percent, Ping An Insurance collected 0.42 percent, Sands China advanced 0.96 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties plummeted 3.69 percent, Techtronic Industries accelerated 2.87 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.98 percent and WuXi Biologics soared 6.51 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened firmly in the green on Monday and continued to accelerate as the day progressed.
The Dow spiked 603.14 points or 1.95 percent to finish at 31,535.51, while the NASDAQ surged 396.48 points or 3.01 percent to end at 13,588.83 and the S&P 500 jumped 90.67 points or 2.38 percent to close at 3,901.82.
The rally on Wall Street came amid a continued pullback by treasury yields, which has eased recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note hit its highest closing level in a year last week.
Positive sentiment was also generated by news Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) single-shot Covid-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA, paving the way for its distribution.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated in February. Also, the Commerce Department said U.S. construction spending increased more than expected in January.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Monday, weighed down by a likely move by major oil producers to increase crude output from April. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.86 or 1.4 percent at $60.64 a barrel.
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