The Hong Kong stock market on Friday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 220 points or 0.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 27,670-point plateau, although it may see renewed selling pressure on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to slightly lower, with a decline in crude oil prices likely to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were roughly flat but mostly in the red, and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the
For the day, the index climbed 145.55 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 27,668.47 after trading between 27,569.13 and 27,708.09.
Among the actives, Henderson Land surged 5.81 percent, while New World Development soared 5.65 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties spiked 4.05 percent, Sino Land advanced 3.42 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 1.16 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.04 percent, Lenovo Group gained 0.72 percent, Ping An Insurance collected 0.49 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.40 percent, CNOOC gathered 0.32 percent, Galaxy Entertainment shed 0.29 percent and BOC Hong Kong was up 0.26 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks moved mostly lower on Friday, although the Dow eked out a modest gain.
The Dow added 13.01 points or 0.1 percent to 21,797.79, while the NASDAQ fell 37.68 points or 0.6 percent to 6,360.19 and the S&P shed 3.67 points or 0.2 percent to 2,461.43. For the week, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.2 percent, the Dow slid 0.9 percent and the S&P lost 0.6 percent.
The weakness came amid concerns about the economic impact of Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida early Sunday. Irma followed close on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, which led to widespread devastation and flooding in Texas.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose more than expected in July, while the Federal Reserve said consumer credit jumped more than expected in July.
Crude oil futures fell Friday but held onto weekly gains as data showed the U.S. oil rig count fell again in what is becoming a rough hurricane season. U.S. West Texas Intermediate light crude oil shed 2.04 percent or $1 at $48.09 a barrel.
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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.