Rebound Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 1,175 points or 4.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,015-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher with projected upbeat earnings news offset by sinking crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the casinos and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the property sector.

For the day, the index dropped 118.49 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 26,017.53 after trading between 25,840.59 and 26,229.80.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies slid 0.60 percent, while AIA Group skidded 1.10 percent, Alibaba Group sank 1.08 percent, Alibaba Health Info eased 0.16 percent, ANTA Sports added 0.69 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.15 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tanked 3.26 percent, China Resources Land surged 3.50 percent, CITIC dropped 0.98 percent, CNOOC rallied 1.05 percent, Country Garden soared 3.28 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plunged 3.69 percent, Galaxy Entertainment lost 0.82 percent, Hang Lung Properties advanced 0.88 percent, Henderson Land accelerated 1.25 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.68 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.23 percent, Li Ning shed 0.88 percent, Longfor skyrocketed 7.64 percent, Meituan surrendered 1.84 percent, New World Development jumped 1.20 percent, Sands China declined 1.46 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 1.08 percent, Techtronic Industries plummeted 4.04 percent, Xiaomi Corporation retreated 1.54 percent, WuXi Biologics tumbled 3.08 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street again is mixed as the major averages opened slightly lower on Thursday. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ quickly climbed into the green and finished that way, but the Dow remained slightly mired in negative territory all day.

The Dow eased 6.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 35,603.08, while the NASDAQ jumped 94.02 points or 0.62 percent to close at 15,215.70 and the S&P 500 rose 13.59 points or 0.30 percent to end at 4,549.78.

The continued strength on Wall Street came the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rebounded more than expected in September.

Upbeat earnings news also contributed to the continued advance, thanks to the likes of Tesla (TSLA) and HP Inc. (HPQ). Meanwhile, a steep drop by shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) weighed on the Dow, with the tech giant plunging by 9.6 percent after reporting weaker than expected Q3 revenues.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by a forecast that U.S. weather this winter will likely be warmer than average. Profit taking after recent strong gains and lower coal and natural gas prices also contributed to oil’s decrease. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $0.92 or 1.1 percent at $82.50 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see September data for consumer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 3.0 percent on year – accelerating from 1.6 percent in August.