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The Hong Kong stock market has slipped into the red in back-to-back sessions, giving away more than 40 points or 0.2 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index finished just below the 24,490-point plateau, although the market may find renewed support on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asianmarketsis cautiously optimistic, although any upside is likely to be capped by ongoing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East. The European markets were mostly higher on Friday and the U.S. bourses ended slightly higher, and the Asian markets are tipped to open in the green.
The Hang Seng finished barely in the red on Friday as losses from the oil companies and telecoms were offset by support from the financial shares and the property stocks.
For the day, the index eased 10.88 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 24,486.20 after trading between 24,420.47 and 24,549.88.
Among the actives, CKH Holdings added 0.70 percent, while Wharf Holdings gained 0.56 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 0.75 percent, New World Development jumped 0.79 percent, Bank of East Asia collected 1.15 percent, CNOOC shed 0.57 percent, China Mobile dropped 1.33 percent and Lenovo Group tumbled 1.77 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as stocks managed to end higher due to some late-day buying interest. The gains partly offset the losses in the four previous sessions.
The Dow rose 34.43 points or 0.2 percent to 17,712.66, while the NASDAQ climbed 27.86 points or 0.6 percent to 4,891.22 and the S&P 500 edged up 4.87 points or 0.2 percent to 2,061.02. For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.7 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 tumbled 2.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.
The higher close followed remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said an interest rate hike may well be warranted later this year but stressed that any increase in rates would be gradual.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department noted that U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2014 was unrevised at 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
Also, the University of Michigan reported that consumer sentiment deteriorated less than estimated in March - above forecasts but down from the previous month.
Source:http://www.rttnews.com/2476066/recovery-expected-for-hong-kong-shares.aspx?type=acom
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