Win Streak May Continue For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gaining more than 260 points or 1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 26,750-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with geopolitical concerns likely to limit any upside. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Friday as gains from the technology stocks were offset by heavy losses from the property sector.

For the day, the index climbed 119.55 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 26,749.51 after trading between 26,689.73 and 26,895.94.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 2.25 percent, while Alibaba Health Info slumped 1.48 percent, ANTA Sports and ENN Energy both dropped 0.58 percent, China Life Insurance sank 0.57 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gained 0.19 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.81 percent, CITIC fell 0.17 percent, CNOOC skidded 1.32 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rallied 1.34 percent, Galaxy Entertainment jumped 1.36 percent, Haier Smart Home tanked 1.60 percent, Hang Lung Properties Stumbled 1.91 percent, Henderson Land declined 1.50 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.27 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.32 percent, JD.com advanced 0.79 percent, Lenovo soared 2.31 percent, Li Auto increased 0.46 percent, Li Ning eased 0.09 percent, Meituan improved 0.57 percent, New World Development retreated 1.57 percent, Nongfu Spring rose 0.10 percent, Techtronic Industries added 0.39 percent, Xiaomi Corporation surged 2.84 percent and WuXi Biologics climbed 0.92 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Friday but quickly turned mixed and finished the session that way.

The Dow dropped 285.30 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 49,098.30, while the NASDAQ added 65.22 points or 0.28 percent to close at 23,501.24 and the S&P 500 perked 2.26 points or 0.03 percent to end at 6,915.61.

For the week, the Dow shed 0.5 percent, the S&P fell 0.4 percent and the NASDAQ eased 0.1 percent.

The mixed performance came as traders kept an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with easing concerns about tensions over Greenland being replaced by renewed worries about a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

After President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force to acquire Greenland and backed off tariff threats against Europe, he has now apparently shifted his attention back to Iran and has an “armada” heading toward the Middle East.

Crude oil prices soared on Friday as fresh war threats in the Middle East raised supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.75 or 2.95 percent at $61.11 per barrel.