FX.co ★ Hong Kong Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Monday

The Hong Kong stock market has experienced a positive streak, advancing for six consecutive sessions and amassing over 1,150 points or 6.4 percent during this period. The Hang Seng Index now stands slightly above the 18,250-point mark, though profit-taking is anticipated on Monday.

The global outlook for Asian markets appears bearish, with expected profit-taking following robust gains from late last week. European markets declined, while U.S. markets showed mixed and modest changes, suggesting that Asian markets will likely fall somewhere in between.

On Friday, the Hang Seng surged, driven by broad-based gains, particularly in the technology, property, and financial sectors.

The index rose by 245.37 points or 1.36 percent to close at 18,258.57, trading within a range of 18,047.13 to 18,355.15.

Performing stocks included Alibaba Group, which increased by 1.75 percent, Alibaba Health Info, soaring 5.02 percent, and ANTA Sports, rallying 3.25 percent. Other significant movers were China Life Insurance, up 0.67 percent, China Mengniu Dairy, improving by 2.10 percent, and China Resources Land, jumping 2.64 percent. Additional gains were seen in CITIC, advancing 1.43 percent, CNOOC, rising 0.53 percent, and CSPC Pharmaceutical, which surged 6.40 percent. Galaxy Entertainment also accelerated by 3.14 percent, Haier Smart Home climbed 2.38 percent, and Hang Lung Properties increased 1.97 percent. Henderson Land strengthened by 2.62 percent, while Hong Kong & China Gas declined by 0.78 percent. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.92 percent, JD.com added 0.72 percent, and Lenovo perked up by 0.11 percent. Li Auto jumped 2.77 percent, Li Ning spiked 4.77 percent, and Meituan advanced 1.57 percent. New World Development surged 6.79 percent, Nongfu Spring strengthened 2.34 percent, Techtronic Industries soared 4.85 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gathered 0.40 percent, and WuXi Biologics skyrocketed 10.40 percent.

Wall Street provided minimal direction as major averages opened lower on Friday and largely maintained those levels, with the Dow managing a slight gain by the session's end.

The Dow inched up by 38.16 points or 0.09 percent to a record 42,063.36. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ dropped 65.68 points or 0.36 percent to 17,948.32, and the S&P 500 fell 11.09 points or 0.19 percent to 5,702.55.

For the week, the Dow gained 1.6 percent, the NASDAQ climbed 1.5 percent, and the S&P rallied 1.4 percent.

Initial weakness on Wall Street was attributed to profit-taking, as traders sought to capitalize on Thursday’s significant rally sparked by a positive response to the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point.

Selling pressure subsided as the session progressed, with traders hesitant to make significant moves while pondering the next market catalyst following the Fed's rate cut.

Oil futures ended slightly lower on Friday, primarily due to profit-taking after substantial gains last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October settled down $0.03 at $71.92 per barrel.