The win streak has reached four sessions now for the Hong Kong stock market, which has advanced more than 770 points or 3.9 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 20,575-point plateau, and the market is looking at another firm lead for Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with support from crude oil prices likely capped by persistent concerns over the likelihood of a U.S. rate hike. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher on Friday and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the property stocks and mainland financials, while the retailers were a volatile and mixed bag.
For the day, the index gathered 179.66 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 20,576.77 after trading between 20,290.84 and 20,620.15.
Among the actives, New World Development climbed 1.38 percent, while Sun Hung Kai Properties added 0.68 percent, Tingyi Cayman Island Holding plummeted 10.21 percent, Want Want China skidded 3.01 percent, Li & Fung dropped 1.00 percent, Tencent Holdings spiked 4.52 percent, Lenovo Group tumbled 3.82 percent, China Construction Bank advanced 1.65 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.49 percent and Bank of China collected 0.96 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as stocks moved modestly higher on Friday - extending the strong upward momentum seen earlier this week.
The NASDAQ advanced 31.74 points or 0.7 percent to 4,933.51, while the Dow rose 44.93 points or 0.3 percent to 17,873.22 and the S&P 500 climbed 8.96 points or 0.4 percent to 2,099.06. For the week, the NASDAQ surged 3.4 percent, while the S&P 500 added 2.3 percent and the Dow gained 2.1 percent.
Traders kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who hinted at the likelihood of a summertime interest rate hike. She said she expects the economy to continue to improve and that it may be appropriate for the Fed to raise rates in the coming months.
Yellen's remarks followed a Commerce Department report showing stronger than estimated Q1 GDP growth - which was upwardly revised to 0.8 percent from 0.5 percent.
A separate report from the University of Michigan showed a modest downward revision to its consumer sentiment index for May, although the index was still at an eleven-month high.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.