Hong Kong Bourse Expected To Remain Rangebound

The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 1,220 points or 4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,200-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from oil and technology stocks in particular. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the properties and technology stocks, while the casinos offered support and the oil companies were mixed.

For the day, the index tumbled 221.86 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 26,204.69 after trading between 26,126.37 and 26,569.37.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies tumbled 3.01 percent, while AIA Group fell 0.76 percent, Alibaba Group was up 0.10 percent, Alibaba Health Info plummeted 6.17 percent, ANTA Sports and Hong Kong & China Gas both skidded 2.58 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.31 percent, China Mengniu Dairy jumped 1.35 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.55 percent, China Resources Land shed 0.93 percent, CITIC dipped 0.48 percent, CNOOC added 0.51 percent, Country Garden plunged 4.75 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.38 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 2.35 percent, Hang Lung Properties tanked 3.94 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.85 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stumbled 0.69 percent, Longfor declined 1.79 percent, Meituan dropped 1.12 percent, New World Development weakened 0.67 percent, Sands China surged 2.97 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties surrendered 1.16 percent, Techtronic Industries gained 0.40 percent, Xiaomi Corporation retreated 2.05 percent and WuXi Biologics sank 1.14 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened firmly in the green and stayed there throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 271.58 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 35,064.25, while the NASDAQ climbed 114.58 points or 0.78 percent to close at 14,895.12 and the S&P 500 perked 26.44 points or 0.60 percent to end at 4,429.10.

The strength on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, sparking optimism ahead of the closely-watched monthly job report later today.

Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in June, reaching a new record high.

Crude oil prices rebounded Thursday, regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the three previous sessions. After plummeting by 7.8 percent so far this week, crude for September delivery advanced $0.94 or 1.4 percent to $69.09 a barrel.