From Nasdaq:

The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in recent sessions, surging almost 950 points. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 15,900-point plateau and seems likely to open in the green again. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher but dependent on earnings news. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed. The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains in every sector, especially energy and technology.

For the day, the index skyrocketed 545.89 points. Among the actives, Alibaba Group skyrocketed 7.32 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 3.83 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 4.56 percent, and many others also showed significant gains.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages mostly opened and closed higher on Wednesday, although the Dow slipped into the red by close. Technology stocks such as Netflix (NFLX) soared by 10.7 percent after the streaming giant reported better than expected fourth quarter revenues.

Oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday on data showing a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March added nearly 1 percent to $75.09 a barrel. In economic news, Hong Kong will see December data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In November, imports were up 7.1 percent on month and exports added 7.4 percent for a trade deficit of HKD27.9 billion.



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