U.S.-listed Chinese firms trade mostly higher

NEW YORK, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher on Friday with eight of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Shares of TAL Education Group and ZTO Express climbed 3.85 percent and 2.11 percent, respectively, leading the gainers in the top 10 stocks in the index.

Shares of JD.com and Alibaba Group Holding lost 0.58 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively, the only two decliners in the top 10 stocks.

U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, as market optimism continued on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 164.68 points, or 0.48 percent, to 34,200.67. The S&P 500 rose 15.05 points, or 0.36 percent, to 4,185.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 13.58 points, or 0.10 percent, to 14,052.34.

The Cboe Volatility Index, widely considered as the best fear gauge in the stock market, dipped 1.93 percent to 16.25.

As of Thursday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges by total market cap, stood at 4,817.36, marking a 2.75-percent loss for the month-to-date returns and a 7.79-percent slide for the year-to-date returns.