(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, shedding almost 130 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,330-point plateau although it's looking at a steady start for Monday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for inflation. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion on Monday.
The Hang Seng finished barely lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks, properties and financials.
For the day, the index dipped 11.53 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 16,334.37 after trading between 16,249.15 and 16,464.14.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group jumped 1.15 percent, while Alibaba Health Info shed 0.70 percent, ANTA Sports declined 0.88 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.29 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surrendered 2.34 percent, China Resources Land plummeted 4.64 percent, CITIC collected 0.42 percent, CNOOC and Meituan both gained 0.64 percent, Country Garden tumbled 1.95 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.45 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 2.07 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 0.76 percent, Henderson Land sank 0.47 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.75 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.27 percent, JD.com advanced 0.77 percent, Lenovo perked 0.21 percent, Li Ning plunged 3.39 percent, New World Development was up 0.18 percent, Techtronic Industries slumped 0.77 percent, Xiaomi Corporation lost 0.41 percent and WuXi Biologics tanked 2.00 percent.
The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages overcame early choppiness on Friday, moving solidly higher in afternoon trade to finish in the green.
The Dow rallied 130.47 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 36,247.87, while the NASDAQ gained 63.97 points or 0.45 percent to close at 14,403.97 and the S&P 500 added 18.78 points or 0.41 percent to end at 4,604.37. For the week, the Dow inched marginally higher, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the NASDAQ added 0.7 percent.
The early volatility on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in November.
The data raised concerns that strength in the labor market could lead the Federal Reserve to delay cutting interest rates, with investors hoping the central bank would pivot to rate cuts as early as March 2024.
But buying interest was generated in reaction to a University of Michigan report showing a pullback in consumers' inflation expectations in December.
Oil spiked sharply on Friday after Saudi Arabia and Russia urged the members of OPEC to join an output cut agreement. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.7 percent at $71.23 a barrel, snapping a six-day losing streak.
