(RTTNews) – The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in two straight trading days, collecting more than 550 points or 2.4 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 23,350-point plateau and it’s got another green light for Monday’s trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher on easing Middle East tensions and hopes that the Federal Reserve will not tighten its monetary policy for now. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were closed for Independence Day, and the Asian markets are expected to tick higher as well.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday as the financial shares, property stocks an technology companies were mostly in the green.
For the day, the index rallied 295.03 points or 1.28 percent to finish at 23,350.03 after trading between 23,226.20 and 23,516.70.
Among the actives, AIA rose 0.62 percent, while Alibaba Group fell 0.42 percent, Baidu picked up 0.82 percent, BOC Hong Kong accelerated 2.17 percent, China Construction Bank sank 0.77 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 1.14 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.78 percent, China Mobile gathered 0.26 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical climbed 1.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy increased 1.01 percent, CITIC gained 0.75 percent, CNOOC surged 3.82 percent, Hong Kong Exchange jumped 2.01 percent, HSBC vaulted 1.67 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China perked 0.16 percent, JD.com expanded 1.36 percent, Lenovo Group tumbled 3.27 percent, Meituan improved 1.06 percent, NetEase spiked 2.70 percent, Nongfu Spring soared 3.02 percent, PetroChina added 0.80 percent, Ping An Insurance shed 0.48 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing plunged 3.48 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties strengthened 1.86 percent, Tencent Holdings was up 0.23 percent, Xiaomi Corporation elevated 1.59 percent, WuXi AppTec rallied 2.16 percent, Zijin Mining skyrocketed 9.01 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.
There is no lead from Wall Street, but the major European markets saw modest gains thanks to easing Middle East tensions.
The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.25%, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 moved up 0.78% and 0.39%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI closed 0.5% up.
Germany’s DAX hit a new all-time high, while France’s CAC 40 climbed to its best levels since February 2026.
Disappointing U.S. employment data also gave the markets a lift as it fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve may not tighten its monetary policy in the near future.
Oil prices held steady on Friday but headed for their fourth straight weekly loss on eased concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery edged up 0.2 percent to $68.84 per barrel.
