The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 60 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 18,090-point plateau and it may move higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key economic data in the coming days. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses saw mild gains and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and technology stocks.
For the day, the index improved 17.03 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 18,089.93 after trading between 17,934.63 and 18,156.35.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group rose 0.28 percent, while Alibaba Health Info jumped 0.90 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 1.27 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.71 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surged 5.02 percent, China Resources Land added 0.74 percent, CITIC dipped 0.13 percent, CNOOC dropped 0.66 percent, Country Garden lost 0.40 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 3.15 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gathered 0.27 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.45 percent, Henderson Land perked 0.23 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 0.86 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 0.87 percent, JD.com tumbled 1.37 percent, Lenovo rallied 0.89 percent, Li Ning declined 1.34 percent, Meituan was up 0.17 percent, New World Development sank 0.55 percent, Techtronic Industries plummeted 2.14 percent, Xiaomi Corporation improved 0.22 percent and WuXi Biologics spiked 2.69 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and spent most of the day hugging the line before a late push nudged them into the green.
The Dow rose 15.64 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 39,127.80, while the NASDAQ gained 87.50 points or 0.49 percent to close at 17,805.16 and the S&P 500 added 8.50 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,477.90.
The uncertainty on Wall Street came as investors braced for the release of key U.S. inflation data later this week for clues on the outlook for interest rates.
Bank stocks were in focus ahead of the central bank\'s annual stress test, while shares of energy firms struggled a bit due to sluggish oil prices.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new home sales in the U.S. saw a substantial decrease in the month of May, while building permits also slumped.
Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in crude inventories in the U.S. last week but recovered and eventually ended the day\'s session slightly higher. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rose $0.07 at $80.90 a barrel.