The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 880 points or 3.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 28,450-point plateau although the market is likely to rebound on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with bargain hunting expected to provide a boost, especially among oversold technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the casinos, financials and oil companies, while the properties and technology stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index lost 143.52 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 28,450.29 after trading between 28,293.23 and 28,508.24.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies was up 0.11 percent, while AIA Group tanked 2.03 percent, Alibaba Group fell 0.77 percent, Alibaba Health Info dipped 0.46 percent, ANTA Sports soared 2.83 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surrendered 1.68 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) plummeted 3.54 percent, China Resources Land sank 1.64 percent, CITIC declined 1.69 percent, CNOOC plunged 3.52 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 1.97 percent, Galaxy Entertainment retreated 1.82 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 1.93 percent, Henderson Land advanced 0.71 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.15 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 1.00 percent, Longfor added 0.54 percent, Meituan surged 5.08 percent, New World Development eased 0.12 percent, Sands China slid 0.60 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties jumped 1.19 percent, Techtronic Industries shed 1.23 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 2.82 percent, WuXi Biologics dropped 1.55 percent and China Life Insurance was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and picked up steam as the day progressed, cutting into the losses from the previous two days.
The Dow jumped 188.11 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 34,084.15, while the NASDAQ spiked 236.00 points or 1.77 percent to end at 13,535.74 and the S&P 500 advanced 43.44 points or 1.06 percent to close at 4,159.12.
The support on Wall Street came in reaction to the sell-off in the previous session, with upbeat earnings and optimism about global economic recovery helping to offset inflation worries and fears about monetary easing.
In economic news, the Labor Department said unemployment claims in the U.S. dropped last week to their lowest since the week ended March 14. Also, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell in May from a 50-year high in April.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday, extending losses to a third straight day as signs of progress in Iran nuclear talks raised expectations that global crude supply will see a surge in the near term. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $1.31 or 2.1 percent at $62.05 a barrel on the expiration day.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide April figures for consumer prices later today; in March, inflation was up 0.5 percent on year.
Market Analysis
Hong Kong Bourse Expected To See Renewed Support
2021-05-21 01:18:10
