The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday ended the brutal three-day slide in which it had plummeted more than 2,600 points or 10.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 25,475-point plateau and it’s in for another wild ride again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support from oil and technology stocks offset by ongoing Covid-19 concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday, although it barely made a dent in the losses from earlier in the week. Technology stocks led the charge.
For the day, the index jumped 387.45 points or 1.54 percent to finish at 25,473.88 after trading between 24,848.43 and 25,520.75.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies gathered 2.77 percent, while AIA Group sank 0.73 percent, Alibaba Group perked 1.83 percent, Alibaba Health Info rallied 3.75 percent, ANTA Sports soared 9.97 percent, China Life Insurance collected 1.10 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 0.60 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.84 percent, China Resources Land plummeted 4.03 percent, CITIC added 0.85 percent, CNOOC shed 0.39 percent, Country Garden Services skyrocketed 18.23 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical jumped 4.34 percent, Galaxy Entertainment increased 0.57 percent, Hang Lung Properties advanced 1.28 percent, Henderson Land tumbled 1.12 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dropped 0.47 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.22 percent, Longfor improved 0.50 percent, Meituan spiked 7.53 percent, Sands China skidded 0.74 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties eased 0.09 percent, Techtronic Industries accelerated 4.60 percent, Xiaomi Corporation climbed 3.08 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 10.38 percent and New World Development was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is schizophrenic as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday before the NASDAQ moved higher, the Dow moved lower and the S&P straddled the line.
The Dow dropped 127.59 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 34,930.93, while the NASDAQ climbed 102.01 points or 0.70 percent to end at 14,762.58 and the S&P 500 eased 0.82 points or 0.02 percent to close at 4,400.64.
The mixed picture on Wall Street came as technology stocks advanced, riding on strong results from Apple Inc, Alphabet and Microsoft.
The Federal Open Market Committee, which concluded its two-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, left the target range for its federal funds rate unchanged at 0 to 0.25 percent as expected, and said it will continue with its $120 billion-a-month bond-buying program.
The bank, which said the economy is strengthening despite concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, added that risks to the economic outlook remain.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday, lifted by data showing a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.74 or 1 percent at $72.39 a barrel.
Market Analysis
More Volatility Expected For Hong Kong Shares
2021-07-29 01:15:20
