Hong Kong Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure On Thursday

The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 330 points or 1.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 22,010-point plateau although it’s tipped to hand back those gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns for rising inflation and slowing growth. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index surged 482.92 points or 2.24 percent to finish at 22,014.59 after trading between 21,734.49 and 22,064.12.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies improved 2.78 percent, while Alibaba Group surged 10.12 percent, Alibaba Health Info skyrocketed 11.55 percent, ANTA Sports strengthened 4.08 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.49 percent, China Mengniu Dairy declined 0.63 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 1.06 percent, China Resources Land slumped 0.44 percent, CITIC was up 0.34 percent, CNOOC gathered 2,15 percent, Country Garden added 1.48 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical climbed 3,66 percent, Galaxy Entertainment accelerated 5.69 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 1.35 percent, Henderson Land retreated 0.82 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas plunged 2.52 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.43 percent, JD.com spiked 6.45 percent, Li Ning jumped 4.18 percent, Meituan rallied 4.62 percent, New World Development tumbled 0.98 percent, Techtronic Industries lost 0.40 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 3.62 percent, WuXi Biologics soared 8.04 percent and Lenovo was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower and spent most of the session in the red before finishing firmly in negative territory.

The Dow shed 269.24 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 32,910.90, while the NASDAQ lost 88.96 points or 0.73 percent to end at 12,086.27 and the S&P 500 sank 44.91 points or 1.08 percent to close at 4,115.77.

The weakness on Wall Street followed lower global growth forecasts by the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development weighed as well.

Higher treasury yields also caused the market’s decline after they rose above the psychologically important 3 percent level, fueling concerns about inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories in the United States increased more than expected in April, although they were down from the previous month.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by a sharp drop in gasoline inventories in the U.S. last week, and on optimism for increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $2.70 or 2.3 percent at $122.11 a barrel, hitting a three-week high.