The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 180 points or 0.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,680-point plateau and it's expected to see continued strength on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm thanks to renewed optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, properties, casinos and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index soared 350.60 points or 1.33 percent to finish at 26,682.56 after trading between 26,332.66 and 26,705.30.
Among the actives, Tencent Holdings surged 3.62 percent, while Sands China soared 3.00 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and AAC Technologies both spiked 2.64 percent, CNOOC jumped 2.24 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 2.01 percent, Sino Land advanced 1.98 percent, China Mobile gathered 1.17 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.08 percent, Ping An Insurance perked 1.06 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical added 0.99 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.89 percent, WH Group skidded 0.67 percent, China Life Insurance was up 0.60 percent, AIA Group rose 0.54 percent and China Resources Land and BOC Hong Kong were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened higher Wednesday and the gains for the major averages accelerated in afternoon trade.
The Dow surged 617.70 points or 2.50 percent to 25,366.43, while the NASDAQ soared 208.89 points or 2.95 percent to 7,291.59 and the S&P jumped 61.61 points or 2.30 percent to 2,743.78.
The surge from Wall Street followed dovish remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who said interest rates are still low by historical standards and said rates are currently "just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy."
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial decrease in new home sales in October, although September's total was upwardly revised.
Crude oil futures drifted lower on Wednesday amid concerns about excess supply after data showed a weekly increase in crude stockpiles in the U.S. Crude oil futures for January delivery ended down $1.27 or 2.5 percent at $50.29 a barrel, the lowest settlement in 13 months.
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