2/15/2012 8:14 PM ET
(RTTNews) – The Hong Kong stock market has closed higher now in three straight sessions, surging almost 600 points or 2.9 percent en route to a six-month closing high. The Hang Seng Index finished just above the 21,365-point plateau, although now traders may decide to lock in gains when the market kicks off trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to flat as optimism over the debt situation in Europe is being replaced by lingering uncertainty following reports that the second bailout for Greece could be delayed. However, fairly upbeat economic data from the United States is likely to limit any downside. The European markets finished mixed but little changed and the U.S. bourses ended in the red – and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the property stocks and the oil companies.
For the day, the index surged 447.40 points or 2.14 percent to finish at 21,365.23 after trading between 20,933.39 and 21,403.28 on volume of 82.27 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Among the gainers, Henderson Land surged 6.1 percent, while Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 4.3 percent, Bank of East Asia collected 0.5 percent, CNOOC added 2.1 percent and PetroChina gathered 0.7 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as stocks saw some volatility over the course of the trading day on Wednesday but eventually ended the session mostly lower amid lingering uncertainty about the financial situation in Europe. Profit taking may also have contributed to the pullback by the markets.
Remarks from Chinese officials contributed to early strength among stocks, with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao saying his country would continue to invest in European government debt to help resolve the ongoing debt crisis. People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan echoed those remarks and expressed confidence that the challenges faced by Europe can be resolved.
However, buying interest waned amid lingering concerns about Greece, with reports suggesting that the second bailout for the debt-plagued nation could be delayed.
In U.S. economic news, the New York Federal Reserve reported that regional manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, with the index of activity in the sector rising to its highest level in more than a year. A separate report from the Fed showed that U.S. industrial production was unchanged in January, as an increase in manufacturing output was offset by declines in mining and utilities output.
The National Association of Home Builders also reported that homebuilder confidence gained for the fifth straight month in February, with the index of homebuilder confidence jumping to its highest level in more than four years.
