The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days following the six-day losing streak that had cost it more than 1,800 points or 12 percent. The Hang Seng Index remains above support at 13,000 points, and now investors are hopeful that the market can move further to the upside when it opens for business on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly positive - especially ahead of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday. Some slightly better-than-expected economic data out of the United States added to the positive sentiment, pushing the European and U.S. markets broadly to the upside - and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished barely higher on Friday, as gains among the properties and airlines were offset by weakness among the financials and energy stocks - but the market still lost more than 1,100 points or almost 8 percent last week.
For the day, the index was up 12.55 points or 0.09 percent to close at 13,255.51 after trading between 13,113.45 and 13,423.24 on turnover of 47.07 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Among the gainers, BOC Hong Kong rose 3.28 percent, while Bank of East Asia was up 5.65 percent, China Construction Bank added 3.71 percent, ICBC was up 3.61 percent, Bank of China added 4.62 percent, China Merchants Bank rose 3.36 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.91 percent, PICC Property & Casualty rose 0.56 percent, Hutchison Whampoa added 1.33 percent, China Overseas Land & Investment rose 3.92 percent, Shimao Property gained 7.56 percent, Guangzhou R&F Properties was up 6.97 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) was up 2.40 percent, Zijin Mining gained 1.47 percent, Air China rose 3.87 percent and China Eastern Airlines was up 2.78 percent.
Finishing lower, HSBC was down 2.73 percent, while Hang Seng Bank lost 1.09 percent, Ping An Insurance was down 3.16 percent, China Mobile lost 1.70 percent, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing fell 0.43 percent, CNOOC fell 1.63 percent, PetroChina lost 1.6 percent, Angang Steel was down 0.73 percent, China Shenhua Energy lost 1.41 percent, Cathay Pacific Airways fell 1.31 percent and China Communications Construction was down 4.00 percent.
Wall Street provides a modestly optimistic lead as stocks ultimately closed higher on Friday after showing considerable volatility over the course of the trading session - as investors responded to some significant news on both the economic and corporate fronts. Stocks moved sharply higher in early trading, but they were unable to sustain the initial upward move and turned lower over the course of the morning. Nonetheless, the major averages moved back to the upside in afternoon trading, ending the day firmly in positive territory.
In corporate news, Intel (INTC) said that its fourth quarter profit dropped 90 percent from last year, hurt by sluggish end market demand and a billion-dollar writedown on its investments in Clearwire Corp. (CLWR). However, the company's earnings came in line with estimates. Additionally, financial services giant Citigroup (C) revealed plans to reorganize into two businesses, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, to optimize the company's global businesses for future profitable growth and opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bank of America (BAC) said that the government has agreed to invest an additional $20 billion in the company to help it absorb losses at Merrill Lynch, which Bank of America acquired on January 1. Bank of America said that the government has also agreed to provide protection against further losses on $118 billion in selected capital markets exposure, primarily from the former Merrill Lynch portfolio.
On the economic front, the Labor Department said its consumer price index fell 0.7 percent in December following an unrevised 1.7 percent decrease in November. Economists had been expecting prices to fall by a somewhat more significant 1.0 percent. With the continued decrease, prices edged up only 0.1 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, marking the slowest annual rate of growth since 1954. The report also showed that the core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, was unchanged for the second consecutive month, compared to economist estimates of a 0.1 percent increase.
Separately, Reuters and the University of Michigan released their preliminary report on consumer sentiment in the month of January, showing that the consumer sentiment index came in at 61.9, notably stronger than the expected reading of 60.0.
The major averages all ended the day sharply higher, although well off their best levels of the day. The Dow closed up 68.73 points or 0.8 percent at 8,281.22, the Nasdaq closed up 17.49 points or 1.2 percent at 1,529.33 and the S&P 500 closed up 6.38 points or 0.8 percent at 850.12. Despite the gains posted in the past two sessions, the major averages all posted weekly losses due to weakness seen earlier in the week. The Dow fell 3.7 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted weekly losses of 2.7 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
In economic news, Hong Kong will on Monday provide December numbers for seasonally adjusted unemployment. Analysts are expecting the rate to come in at between 4 and 4.2 percent compared to the 3.8 percent rate in November. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also is due to announce any changes to its composite interest rate, which currently rests at 0.86 percent.
In corporate news, Industrial Bank saw net profit up 32.34 percent in 2008, the bank said on Monday, standing at 11.36 billion yuan. Revenues for 2008 were up 35.3 percent to 29.85 billion yuan, while earnings per share added to 2.27 yuan from 1.75 yuan, and net assets per share rose to 9.80 yuan from 7.78 yuan.
Also, Agricultural Bank of China saw net profit climb 19.1 percent on year, the bank said on Sunday, coming in at .1 billion yuan. Agricultural Bank of China's return on assets was 0.79 percent last year, while its return on equity was 19.1 percent.
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April 10, 2026 16:21 ET Inflation data from the U.S. was the main data event this week as the conflict in the Middle East continue. The minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the survey data on the services sector also made headlines. In Europe, manufacturing orders data from Germany was in focus. Price data from China drew attention in Asia.