The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 680 points or 2.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 28,375-point plateau and now its looking at a steady start on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support from technology stocks likely offset by weakness from oil companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the properties, oil companies and technology stocks.
For the day, the index sank 199.15 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 28,378.35 after trading between 28,332.78 and 28,802.53,
Among the actives, AAC Technologies shed 0.89 percent, while AIA Group declined 1.82 percent, Alibaba Group slid 0.72 percent, Alibaba Health Info retreated 2.00 percent, ANTA Sports jumped 1.44 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.74 percent, China Mengniu Dairy lost 0.78 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 1.43 percent, China Resources Land plummeted 3.95 percent, CITIC soared 2.22 percent, CNOOC surrendered 1.22 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.53 percent, Galaxy Entertainment skidded 2.91 percent, Henderson Land tumbled 2.92 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 0.5 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.36 percent, Longfor plunged 3.65 percent, Meituan rallied 1.57 percent, New World Development sank 1.11 percent, Sands China added 0.65 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties tanked 3.44 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 1.76 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gained 0.59 percent and WuXi Biologics dropped 0.92 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is conflicted as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow fell under pressure as the day progressed and finished in the red.
The Dow dipped 85.41 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 32,981.55, while the NASDAQ surged 201.48 points or 1.54 percent to end at 13,246.87 and the S&P 500 rose 14.34 points or 0.36 percent to close at 3,972.89.
The rally by technology stocks reflected window dressing on the final day of the first quarter as the tech-heavy NASDAQ underperformed the Dow and the S&P. The NASDAQ rose 2.8 percent in Q1, while the Dow jumped 5.8 percent and the S&P spiked 7.8 percent.
A report from payroll processor ADP showing strong private sector job growth in March also generated some positive sentiment. ADP said private sector employment surged up by 517,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 176,000 jobs in February.
Crude oil prices moved sharply lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $1.39 or 2.3 percent at $59.16 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Hong Kong Bourse May Find Traction On Thursday
2021-04-01 01:15:18
