The Hong Kong stock market on Friday wrote an emphatic finish to the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 380 points or 2.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 18,950-point plateau and it's looking at another higher open again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on solid U.S. employment data and easing fears of recession. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished with huge gains on Friday, with gains in all sectors - especially the property and technology stocks.
For the day, the index skyrocketed 733.04 points or 4.02 percent to finish at 18,949.94 after trading between 18,548.30 and 19,024.91.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 6.73 percent, while Alibaba Health Info jumped 4.75 percent, ANTA Sports soared 7.25 percent, China Life Insurance improved 2.45 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 5.94 percent, China Resources Land surged 9.12 percent, CITIC climbed 3.54 percent, CNOOC advanced 2.71 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 12.96 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical added 1.79 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and Hang Lung Properties both strengthened 4.18 percent, Henderson Land accelerated 4.47 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 1.84 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.69 percent, JD.com soared 6.54 percent, Lenovo gained 0.54 percent, Li Ning skyrocketed 11.16 percent, Meituan surged 7.80 percent, New World Development rallied 5.59 percent, Techtronic Industries tumbled 1.47 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 4.68 percent and WuXi Biologics spiked 6.47 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Friday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow surged 701.16 points or 2.12 percent to finish at 33,762.76, while the NASDAQ jumped 139.77 points or 1,07 percent to end at 13,240.77 and the S&P 500 spiked 61.35 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4,282.37. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both jumped 2.0 percent and the S&P climbed 1.8 percent.
The extended rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment surged by much more than expected in the month of May.
Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to news the Senate voted to pass the bill raising the U.S. debt ceiling late Thursday night, and President Joe Biden has since made it official with his signature.
The passage of the bill eliminated the threat of a potentially disastrous default by the U.S. government, which had been hanging over the markets in recent weeks.
Oil prices rallied on Friday, extending gains from the previous session following the passage of the debt ceiling bill and amid speculation OPEC may announce a cut in production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $1.64 or 2.3 percent at $71.74 a barrel.
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