The Hong Kong stock market on Friday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 925 points or 4 percent. The Hang Seng Index settled just above the 23,230-point plateau, and the market may add to its winnings on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside with mixed data offset by weakening crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the casinos, oil companies and financial shares.
For the day, the index picked up 202.01 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 23,233.31 after trading between 23,087.14 and 23,318.36.
Among the actives, Sands China surged 2.79 percent, while CNOOC spiked 2.55 percent, Li & Fung jumped 1.57 percent, China Life climbed 1.47 percent, AIA Group advanced 1.17 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 1.16 percent, HK & China Gas gained 1.09 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) picked up 1.06 percent and HSBC collected 1.30 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks finished slightly higher on Friday, well off their best levels of the day.
The Dow rose 39.44 points or 0.2 percent to 18,138.38, while the NASDAQ crept up 0.82 points or 0.1 percent to 5,214.16 and the S&P 500 added 0.43 points or 0.1 percent to 2,132.98. For the week, the Dow fell 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 slid 1 percent and the NASDAQ fell 1.5 percent.
The slightly higher close followed remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said the central bank should consider running a "high-pressure economy" to address the lingering effects of the financial crisis.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose in line with estimates in September, while the Labor Department said producer prices increased more than anticipated in September. Also, the University of Michigan noted that consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in a year in October.
Crude oil futures were down as industry data showed U.S. rig counts continue to rise, in a sign that U.S. production could make up for OPEC output quotas. WTI crude oil for December fell 9 cents to $50.09 a barrel.
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