The Hong Kong stock market turned emphatically higher again on Thursday, one session after it had ended the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 570 points or 2.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 22,460-point plateau, although the market figures to head south again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is roughly flat ahead of the release of U.S. employment data later today, with a bump in crude oil prices providing support. The European and U.S. markets were largely unchanged and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, casinos, oil companies and insurance stocks, among others.
For the day, the index spiked 322.22 points or 1.46 percent to finish at 22,456.69 after trading between 22,230.31 and 22,483.01.
Among the actives, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surged 3.44 percent, while Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding tumbled 3.39 percent, Galaxy Entertainment spiked 2.55 percent, China Life advanced 2.43 percent, AIA Group soared 2.07 percent, Sands China climbed 1.80 percent, Lenovo Group and CNOOC both gathered 1.63 percent, HSBC perked 0.71 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.29 percent, Ping An Insurance jumped 1.27 percent and Li & Fung fell 0.28 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Thursday, although the NASDAQ hit a new record closing high.
The NASDAQ rose 10.93 points or 0.2 percent to 5,487.94, while the Dow shed 42.87 points or 0.2 percent to 19,899.29 and the S&P fell 1.75 points or 0.1 percent to 2,269.00.
The choppy trading reflected trepidation ahead of the release of today's monthly jobs report from the Labor Department. Employment is expected to add 175,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.7 percent.
In other economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in December. A separate report from the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week.
Crude oil futures rose for a second day Thursday, after government data confirmed a big drop in US oil stockpiles. February oil climbed 50 cents or 0.9 percent to settle at $53.76/bbl.
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Market Analysis
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.