The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing almost 350 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 29,200-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation, with ongoing concerns over tax reform offset by a bump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down on Friday and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the financials were capped by mixed performances from the casinos and insurance companies - while the property sector was soft.
For the day, the index climbed 180.28 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 29,199.04 after trading between 29,158.35 and 29,341.92.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China surged 2.15 percent, while WH Group plummeted 1.91 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.44 percent, Kunlun Energy skidded 1.34 percent, Ping An Insurance climbed 1.29 percent, Cathay Pacific Airways jumped 1.02 percent, AIA Group advanced 0.92 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.90 percent, New World Development lost 0.70 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.63 percent, Han Lung Properties fell 0.46 percent, Sands China dipped 0.28 percent, China Life eased 0.19 percent, China Mobile picked up 0.06 percent and CNOOC and Lenovo Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is slightly negative as stocks were down Friday amid subdued selling pressure
The Dow slid 100.12 points or 0.43 percent to 23,358.24, while the NASDAQ lost 10.50 points or 0.15 percent to 6,782.79 and the S&P 500 fell 6.79 points or 0.26 percent to 2,578.85. For the week, the NASDAQ rose 0.5 percent, the Dow shed 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent.
The weakness reflected lingering uncertainty about the outlook for Republican tax reform plans. The House approved its tax reform bill, but significant differences with the Senate version could hinder final passage of the legislation.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a bigger than expected jump in housing starts in October. Building permits also surged in October.
Oil prices showed a strong move to the upside on Friday, reversing weakness in the previous session. Crude oil for December delivery jumped $1.41 to $56.55 a barrel after dipping $0.19 to $55.14 a barrel on Thursday.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com