Hong Kong Stock Market Called Higher Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The winning streak has reached three sessions now for the Hong Kong stock market, which has advanced almost 300 points or 1.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 22,040-point plateau, and the market is expected to see continued support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive thanks to a sharp rebound in the price of crude oil - while window dressing ahead of the year's end also may play a role. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished firmly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, casinos, properties and oil companies.

For the day, the index jumped 210.57 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 22,040.59 after trading between 21,846.48 and 22,103.63.

Among the actives, HSBC climbed 0.74 percent, while Bank of East Asia collected 1.29 percent, New World Development added 0.65 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 0.95 percent, Galaxy Entertainment Group perked 1.23 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surged 4.54 percent, PetroChina spiked 3.34 percent, CNOOC soared 3.95 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 2.68 percent and Bank of China gathered 1.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved higher on Wednesday, fueled by a gain in the energy sector. The gains extended a recent upward move, with the major averages closing higher for the third straight day.

The Dow jumped 185.34 points or 1.1 percent to 17,602.61, while the NASDAQ advanced 44.82 points or 0.9 percent to 5,045.93 and the S&P 500 surged 25.32 points or 1.2 percent to 2,064.29.

The strength followed a substantial increase by the price of crude oil, which climbed further off its recent lows after an unexpected sharp decline in inventories.

Traders were also reacting to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Commerce Department showing that new home sales increased for the second consecutive month in November. A separate report from the University of Michigan said that consumer sentiment improved by more than estimated in December.

Also, the Commerce Department noted that personal income and spending rose at the same rate in November, while a separate report showed that durable goods orders were virtually unchanged in November after surging 2.9 percent in October.