The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 740 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 28,415-point plateau and it's called higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm, with support expected from technology and oil stocks. The European and U.S. markets were higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the casinos, properties and oil companies.
For the day, the index gathered 64.82 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 28,416.44 after trading between 28,272.13 and 28,485.83.
Among the actives, Hang Lung Properties surged 2.43 percent, while BOC Hong Kong plummeted 2.04 percent, Wharf Real Estate soared 1.65 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.59 percent, Sands China spiked 1.57 percent, AIA Group jumped 1.48 percent, New World Development climbed 1.32 percent, Tencent Holdings skidded 1.26 percent, WH Group dropped 1.14 percent, Sino Land advanced 1.07 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical shed 0.98 percent, China Mobile added 0.94 percent, China Life lost 0.75 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and China Mengniu Dairy both gained 0.43 percent, Ping An collected 0.33 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gathered 0.25 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.17 percent, CNOOC perked 0.14 percent and Hong Kong & China Gas was up 0.13 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved mostly higher on Wednesday, with the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 hitting fresh record closing highs - while the Dow reached its best closing level in nearly seven months.
The Dow added 60.55 points or 0.23 percent to 26,124.57, while the NASDAQ added 79.65 points or 0.99 percent to 8,109.69 and the S&P climbed 16.52 points or 0.57 percent to 2,914.04.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ benefited from notable gains by Amazon (AMZN) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) after Morgan Stanley raised its price targets for both stocks.
The continued strength also reflected optimism about renewed trade talks between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Canada rejoined the talks following reports of a preliminary trade deal with Mexico on Monday.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said GDP was revised up to 4.2 percent from the earlier reading of 4.1 percent. Also, the National Association of Realtors noted an unexpected pullback in pending home sales in July.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, lifted by official inventory data that showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Crude oil futures for October delivery ended up $0.98 or 1.4 percent at $69.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement so far this month.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will release retail sales data for July later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 8.0 percent on year - slowing from 9.8 percent in June.
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