Asian Economic News
Hang Seng May Crack 23,000-Point Level
11/16/2009 8:36 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
The Hong Kong stock market has ended higher in two straight trading days, collecting more than 450 points or 2 percent en route to a fresh 15-month closing high. The Hang Seng Index ended just below the 23,000-point plateau, and now investors are looking for continued movement to the upside at the opening of trade on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firmly positive thanks to a rebound in the price of resource stocks - particularly the oil and gold companies, while the steel companies and properties also are tipped to provide support. The European and U.S. markets ended solidly higher, and the Asian bourses also are forecast to move higher.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday, drawing support from gains among the financial stocks and the airline shares.
For the day, the index surged 390.35 points or 1.73 percent to finish at 22,943.98 after trading between 22,770.69 and 22,998.85 on turnover of 76.36 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Among the gainers, HSBC Holdings added 2.7 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 2.4 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 3.6 percent, Bank of China climbed 2.3 percent, Air China surged 9.13 percent, China Eastern Airlines spiked 10.79 percent, China Southern Airlines jumped 5.11 percent, Cathay Pacific Airways gained 2.08 percent, Great Wall Motor was up 1.31 percent, Dongfeng Motor Group jumped 2.22 percent and Sinotruk (Hong Kong) added 0.2 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is strong as stocks saw notable gains on Monday, with continued indications of low interest rates from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and better-than-expected news from the retail sector generating considerable buying interest. The major averages all finished the day in positive territory by comfortable margins, setting fresh yearly highs.
Monday afternoon, Bernanke reassured the markets that a number of accommodative policies, including near-zero interest rates, would remain in effect for an extended period. He also noted that the Fed is attentive to the declining U.S. dollar, but will continue to focus on its objective of maximum employment and price stability.
"Our commitment to our dual objectives, together with the underlying strengths of the U.S. economy, will help ensure that the dollar is strong and a source of global financial stability," Bernanke said.
Early strength in stocks came following news from the Commerce Department that retail sales increased by 1.4 percent in October following a revised 2.3 percent decrease in September. Economists had expected sales to increase by 0.9 percent compared to the 1.5 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
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