The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 825 points or 3.8 percent. The Hang Seng now sits just beneath the 22,000-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks, properties and casinos.
For the day, the index tumbled 235.18 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 21,996.85 after trading between 21,922.58 and 22,262.16.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies stumbled 2.37 percent, while AIA Group eased 0.06 percent, Alibaba Group dropped 1.58 percent, Alibaba Health Info retreated 2.68 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 2.09 percent, China Life Insurance was down 0.17 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tanked 3.87 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.51 percent, China Resources Land lost 1.48 percent, CITIC soared 2.35 percent, CNOOC tumbled 3.42 percent, Country Garden skidded 2.18 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plunged 4.94 percent, Galaxy Entertainment fell 1.05 percent, Hang Lung Properties dipped 0.63 percent, Henderson Land sank 1.95 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas slid 0.73 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.05 percent, Li Ning slipped 0.37 percent, Longfor surged 2.54 percent, Meituan surrendered 2.81 percent, New World Development declined 2.75 percent, Techtronic Industries weakened 2.01 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 1.55 percent and WuXi Biologics plummeted 6.00 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and the losses accelerated as the session progressed, finishing solidly in the red.
The Dow plummeted 550.46 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 34,678.35, while the NASDAQ plunged 221.76 points or 1.54 percent to close at 14,220.52 and the S&P 500 tumbled 72.04 points or 1.57 percent to end at 4,530.41.
Selling pressure picked up considerably in the final hour of the last trading day of the quarter, which marked the first negative quarter for the major averages since the first quarter of 2020.
For the first three months of 2022, the Nasdaq plummeted by 9.1 percent and the S&P 500 and Dow dove by 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, although the major averages regained some ground in March.
Traders may also have been looking to safer havens ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report later today.
Crude oil prices drifted plummeted on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months. West Texas International Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $7.54 or 7 percent at $100.28 a barrel, the lowest close since March 16.
Market Analysis
Lower Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market
2022-04-01 01:15:22
