The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in four straight sessions, surging more than 930 points or 3 percent en route to a fresh record closing high. The Hang Seng Index rests just above the 32,250-point plateau and it draws another firm lead for Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, thanks to optimism that the U.S. government shutdown will end soon, although a fall in crude oil prices may weigh. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financials, properties and oil companies.
For the day, the index advanced 132.95 points or 0.41 percent to finish at the daily high of 32,254.89 after moving as low as 31,986.00.
Among the actives, China Resources Land surged 7.40 percent, while Hengan International Group plummeted 3.32 percent, WH Group soared 2.63 percent, China Mobile tumbled 1.17 percent, China Mengniu Dairy jumped 1.15 percent, CNOOC dropped 0.98 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 0.93 percent, Ping An Insurance advanced 0.87 percent, New World Development shed 0.80 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties added 0.68 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gained 0.63 percent, Lenovo Group picked up 0.44 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.42 percent, AIA Group gathered 0.23 percent, BOC Hong Kong fell 0.12 percent and Sands China and Hong Kong & China Gas were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved higher on Friday, lifting the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The Dow rose 53.91 points or 0.21 percent to 26,071.72, while the NASDAQ advanced 40.33 points or 0.55 percent to 7,336.38 and the S&P 500 added 12.27 points or 0.44 percent to 2,810.30. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both surged 1 percent and the S&P 500 jumped 0.9 percent.
The strength came as optimism about the outlook for the economy and corporate earnings overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown as lawmakers failed to reach a last-minute agreement on a spending bill.
Traders seemed unfazed by a report from the University of Michigan showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in January.
Crude oil prices continued to ease from recent four-year highs as February WTI oil was down 58 cents or 0.9 percent to settle at $63.37/bbl.
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