Ahead of Wednesday's holiday marking Buddha's birthday, the Hong Kong stock market concluded a three-day rally during which it surged nearly 800 points, or 4.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index currently sits just below the 19,075-point mark and is expected to trend upward again on Thursday.
The global outlook for Asian markets appears positive, fueled by rising optimism about the trajectory of interest rates. Both European and U.S. markets experienced gains, setting a hopeful tone for Asian bourses to follow.
On Tuesday, the Hang Seng closed slightly lower, weighed down by losses in financial and property shares, while technology stocks had a mixed performance.
For the day, the index dipped by 41.35 points, or 0.22 percent, closing at 19,073.71, after oscillating between 19,072.64 and 19,301.13.
Key performers included Alibaba Group, which surged 1.85 percent, and Alibaba Health Info, up 0.31 percent. ANTA Sports declined 0.77 percent, China Life Insurance fell 1.02 percent, and China Mengniu Dairy slid 1.06 percent. China Resources Land retreated 1.91 percent, CITIC slumped 1.31 percent, and CNOOC tumbled 2.30 percent. Country Garden dropped 2.17 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical decreased 1.90 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plunged 3.92 percent, Hang Lung Properties sank 3.62 percent, and Henderson Land slipped 0.99 percent. Conversely, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.63 percent, Lenovo increased 0.79 percent, Li Ning gained 0.47 percent, and Xiaomi Corporation soared 3.20 percent. WuXi Biologics advanced 2.55 percent.
Wall Street ended the day strong as major indices opened higher and maintained gains, concluding near daily peaks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 349.89 points, or 0.88 percent, to close at 39,908.00. The NASDAQ Composite jumped 231.21 points, or 1.40 percent, finishing at 16,742.29, while the S&P 500 rose 61.47 points, or 1.17 percent, to end at 5,308.15.
The rally was bolstered by a Labor Department report showing that U.S. consumer prices increased slightly less than anticipated in April, building on optimism sparked by hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data.
Additionally, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales remained flat in April, defying expectations of a 0.4 percent rise.
In the commodities market, crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, driven by soft inflation data and a report showing a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June rose by $0.61, or 0.78 percent, closing at $78.63 a barrel.