U.S.-listed Chinese companies trade mostly higher amid market rally

NEW YORK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher on Friday, with six of all top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. rallied 3.48 percent to close at 38.19 U.S. dollars apiece, the biggest advancer among the 10 stocks. Meanwhile, stocks of Chinese bio-pharmaceutical company BeiGene, Ltd., the biggest laggard, lost 1.79 percent in market closing.

Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba surged 3.53 percent to close at 188.89 U.S. dollars apiece on Friday as the company reported positive earnings reports.

As of Thursday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index stood at 3,055.86, marking a 0.19-percent decrease for the month-to-date returns and a 1.14-percent loss for the year-to-date returns.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday as investors digested a slew of economic data as well as corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 332.36 points, or 1.39 percent, to 24,262.51. The S&P 500 increased 33.69 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,663.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 121.47 points, or 1.71 percent, to 7,209.62. Enditem