The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher now in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 260 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index finished just above the 23,160-point plateau, and now investors are expecting to see the market extend its gains when the market kicks off trade on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic following mixed economic data from the United States and a stalled rally for commodity prices. Airlines and technology stocks are expected to provide support as oil declines. The European and U.S. markets finished higher, and the Asian bourses also figure to trend to the upside.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the telecom stocks and properties.
For the day, the index jumped 152.24 points or 0.7 percent to finish at 23,163.38 after trading between 23,031.60 and 23,248.13 on volume of 63.15 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Among the gainers, China Unicom surged 4.5 percent, while Cheung Kong added 2.7 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 2.0 percent and Henderson Land gathered 1.2 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild support as Stocks moved mostly higher on Thursday, although buying interest was somewhat subdued. The markets experienced choppy trading for much of the session as traders digested a mixed batch of economic data.
Upbeat employment data contributed to some early strength on Wall Street, with a report from the Labor Department showing that jobless claims fell by more than expected in the week ended May 14. Jobless claims fell to 409,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 438,000, while economists had been expecting jobless claims to show a much more modest decrease to 425,000 from the 434,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing an unexpected decrease in existing home sales in the month of April. NAR said existing home sales eased 0.8 percent to an annual rate of 5.05 million in April from a downwardly revised 5.09 million in March. Economists had expected existing home sale to increase to 5.20 million from the 5.10 million originally reported for the previous month.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve also released a report showing a substantial slowdown in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of May. The report showed that the diffusion index of current activity fell to 3.9 in May from 18.5 in April, dropping to its lowest level since last October. While a positive reading still indicates growth, economists had been expecting the index to increase to 23.0.
Among individual stocks, shares of Sears Holdings (SHLD) came under pressure after the company reported an adjusted first quarter loss of $1.39 per share, wider than analyst estimates for a loss of $1.22 per share. Sears fell by 2.6 percent to a four-month closing low.
On the other hand, shares of LinkedIn (LNKD) showed a substantial upward move after making their debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The professional networking site surged up by 109 percent.
The major averages posted modest gains on the day, extending the upward move seen in the previous session. The Dow rose by 45.14 points or 0.4 percent to 12,605.32, the NASDAQ climbed up by 8.31 points or 0.3 percent to 2,823.31 and the S&P 500 edged up by 2.92 points or 0.2 percent to 1,343.60.
In economic news, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased to 3.5 percent in the three months ended April from 3.4 percent in the January-March period, which was the lowest in 31 months. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to be 3.3 percent in the February-April period. The number of jobless persons rose by 7,400 to 131,900 during the period, while the number of underemployed moved up by 2,600 to 68,900.
Also, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has asked some banks in the city to reduce growth in credit, reports said Thursday. The city's Chinese language newspaper the Oriental Daily reported that banks were asked to ensure that growth in lending does not exceed the rate of the first few months of 2011. HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan said that there is likely to be continued upward pressure on banks' lending and deposit rates as a result of the strong loan demand from various sectors including Mainland-related opportunities.
In corporate news, electric utility company China Hydroelectric on Thursday reported that Q1 revenue declined by 27 percent. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders narrowed to $5.6 million or $0.11 per ADS from $13.5 million or $0.36 per ADS in the previous year quarter. Non-GAAP net loss for the quarter was $4.4 million or $0.09 per ADS, compared to a net income of $2.6 million or $0.07 per share in the comparable quarter last year.
Also, enhanced oil recovery services provider SinoTech Energy Limited on Thursday reported a profit for the second quarter, compared to loss last year, on surge in revenue due to effective utilization of its expanded fleet. For the second quarter, SinoTech Energy reported net income of $10.9 million compared to a net loss of $2.6 million in the year-ago period. Earnings per ADS for the quarter attributable to shareholders were $0.17.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.