Hong Kong Shares May Open In The Green On Friday

The Hong Kong stock market moved lower again on Thursday, one day after snapping 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 19,750-point plateau and it’s expected to open to the upside on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains murky on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat, and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index sank 112.04 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 19,752.51 after trading between 19,591.49 and 19,849.03.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group skidded 1.31 percent, while Alibaba Health Info lost 0.87 percent, ANTA Sports perked 0.06 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 1.49 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gained 0.57 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 1.55 percent, CITIC dipped 0.57 percent, CNOOC eased 0.22 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical added 0.63 percent, Galaxy Entertainment was down 0.44 percent, Haier Smart Home slid 0.73 percent, Hang Lung Properties plunged 2.38 percent, Henderson Land plummeted 3.32 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.97 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.82 percent, JD.com declined 1.60 percent, Lenovo slipped 0.64 percent, Li Auto rallied 1.28 percent, Li Ning dropped 1.07 percent, Meituan sank 1.06 percent, New World Development tumbled 1.71 percent, Nongfu Spring retreated 1.69 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 2.19 percent, WuXi Biologics surrendered 1.97 percent and Xiaomi Corporation was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher Thursday on bargain hunting but faded as the day progressed, finally ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 15.37 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 42,342.24, while the NASDAQ dipped 19.93 points or 0.10 percent to close at 19,372.77 and the S&P 500 eased 5.08 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,867.08.

The initial strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after Wednesday’s steep losses, which saw the Dow tumble to its lowest closing level in over a month.

Wednesday’s sell-off came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast rate cuts fewer than expected next year.

Upbeat economic data supported for the Fed’s cautious approach to further rate cuts after the Commerce Department said GDP surged more than expected in Q3. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits pulled back more than expected last week.

Crude oil futures were down on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer interest rate cuts next year than had been expected. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January closed down $0.67 or 0.95 percent at $69.91 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see November data for consumer prices later today; in October, inflation was up 0.2 percent on month and 1.4 percent on year.

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