(RTTNews) - One day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had added more than 700 points or 4 percent, the Hong Kong stock market turned right back to the upside on Monday. The Hang Seng broke through resistance at 22,200 points to a fresh 14-month closing high, and now analysts are expecting the market to extend those gains when the market opens for business on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive, with continued support expected from the commodities due to the continued easing of the greenback. Property stocks and steel producers also are tipped to move higher, while more positive earnings news also offers some optimism. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply higher on Monday, and the Asian bourses are now expected to open in the same fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday, riding gains from the financials, automobile producers and oil companies. Gold miners saw some profit taking but still were mostly higher.

For the day, the index gained 270.56 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 22,200.46 after trading between 21,761.83 and 22,250.23 on turnover of 60.63 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Among the gainers, China Construction Bank gained 1.6 percent, while Bank of China added 1.4 percent, BOC Hong Kong jumped 4.3 percent, Foxconn International surged 9.0 percent, Zijin Mining Group added 1.91 percent, Zhaojin Mining Industry gained 2.59 percent, Lingbao Gold gathered 1.36 percent, Denway Motors was up 0.81 percent, Great Wall Motor gained 0.96 percent, Dongfeng Motor Group jumped 2.41 percent and Sinotruk climbed 3.96 percent.

Finishing lower, HSBC Holdings eased 0.61 percent and Sino Gold Mining shed 3.98 percent.

Wall Street offers a firm lead as stocks rose by notable margins on Monday, with traders continuing to buy into the markets based on recent economic optimism. The major averages all closed on the upside by comfortable margins, reaching their best closing levels of the year despite a day that was relatively light on catalysts.

The strength in the markets came as traders reacted to the latest batch of earnings news, with Gannett (GCI) and Eaton (ETN) turning in strong performances after both companies reported third quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

Separately, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. has benefited from Asia’s rapid development and integration into the world economy, but he said that both regions need to take steps to avoid financial imbalances in the future.

Speaking at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank’s conference on Asia and the Global Financial Crisis in Santa Barbara, Bernanke said that Asian economies are also leading the world’s economic recovery but that they also must increase spending.

“For their part, to achieve balanced and sustainable growth, the authorities in surplus countries, including most Asian economies, must act to narrow the gap between saving and investment and to raise domestic demand,” he said in prepared remarks. “In large part, such actions should focus on boosting consumption.”

Meanwhile, homebuilder confidence unexpectedly slipped in the month of October, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders, with the decrease reflecting concerns about the upcoming expiration of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers.

The report showed that the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index edged down to 18 in October from 19 in September. The decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to edge up to a reading of 20.

The major averages moved roughly sideways throughout the afternoon, ending the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow closed up by 96.28 points or 1 percent at 10,092.19, the NASDAQ advanced 19.52 points or 0.9 percent to end at 2,176.32 and the S&P 500 rose by 10.23 points or 0.9 percent to 1,097.91.

In economic news, Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.3 percent in July-September from 5.4 percent in June-August, the Census and Statistics Department said on Monday. That was the first decline since the outbreak of the global financial tsunami in August 2008. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 5.4 percent.

The number of unemployed persons on a not seasonally adjusted basis decreased around 7,700 to 209,100 in July-September from 216,800 in June-August. Total employment in July-September was 3,495,500, almost the same as that in June-August, 3,495,300.

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