Lower Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the three-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 700 points or 2.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 19,860-point plateau although it’s expected to move back to the downside again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests major consolidation on the deteriorating outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks and financial shares, while the property sector was mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 164.07 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 19,864.55 after trading between 19,802.22 and 19,953.53.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group gained 0.78 percent, while Alibaba Health Info improved 0.58 percent, ANTA Sports tanked 2.17 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.37 percent, China Mengniu Dairy and CITIC both advanced 0.92 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.22 percent, CNOOC increased 0.22 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 2.59 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rose 0.15 percent, Haier Smart Home spiked 1.49 percent, Hang Lung Properties rallied 1.45 percent, Henderson Land added 0.84 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas strengthened 1.15 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.21 percent, JD.com jumped 1.27 percent, Lenovo soared 3.06 percent, Li Auto surged 5.45 percent, Li Ning was up 0.12 percent, Meituan climbed 0.95 percent, New World Development plummeted 6.73 percent, Nongfu Spring perked 0.14 percent, Techtronic Industries rallied 1.06 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 2.84 percent and WuXi Biologics accelerated 2.73 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and stayed that way for most of the session before plummeting after the FOMC’s interest rate statement.

The Dow crashed 1,123.03 points or 2.58 percent to finish at 42,326.87, while the NASDAQ tanked 716.37 points or 3.56 percent to close at 19,392.69 and the S&P 500 sank 178.45 points or 2.95 percent to end at 5,872.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast fewer than previously estimated rate cuts next year.

With the rate cut almost universally expected, the focus of the announcement was on Fed officials’ latest economic projections. The latest projections suggest rates will be in a range of 3.75 to 4.0 percent by the end of 2025 compared to the range of 3.25 to 3.50 percent forecast in September.

Assuming the Fed lowers rates by a quarter-point, the projections point to just two rate cuts next year compared to the four previously forecast as Fed officials expect inflation to come in hotter than previously estimated in 2025.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding from recent losses after data showed a drop in crude inventories and an increase in gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.50 or 0.71 percent at $70.58 a barrel.