Hong Kong Bourse May Stop The Bleeding On Thursday

The Hong Kong stock market has closed lower in four straight sessions, plummeting more than 1,850 points or 8.6 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 20,625-point plateau although it’s due to finally halt its slide on Thursday.

The global forecast is broadly positive on bargain hunting and easing inflation concerns after crude oil prices retreated sharply. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index shed 138.16 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 20,627.71 after trading between 20,102.57 and 20,957.72.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies lost 1.34 percent, while AIA Group dropped 2.05 percent, Alibaba Group was down 0.67 percent, Alibaba Health Info slumped 2.24 percent, ANTA Sports plunged 7.41 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 2.63 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surrendered 3.54 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tumbled 4.90 percent, China Resources Land declined 3.25 percent, CITIC slipped 0.81 percent, CNOOC gave away 0.59 percent, Country Garden dipped 0.98 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical shed 1.94 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 2.25 percent, Hang Lung Properties retreated 3.05 percent, Henderson Land stumbled 2.64 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas weakened 2.40 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China eased 0.22 percent, Li Ning plummeted 9.36 percent, Longfor and ENN Energy both sank 2.15 percent, Meituan jumped 2/06 percent, New World Development slid 1.32 percent, Techtronic Industries fell 1.33 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 2.78 percent and WuXi Biologics tanked 6.98 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow surged 653.61 points or 2.00 percent to finish at 33,286.25, while the NASDAQ spiked 459.99 points or 3.59 percent to end at 13,255.55 and the S&P 500 soared 107.18 points or 2.57 percent to close at 4,277.88.

A pullback by commodities prices contributed to the rebound on Wall Street, as the recent surge in prices had led to worries about even higher inflation.

Oil prices plunged sharply on Wednesday, a day after recording their highest close in 14 years, after analysts said the U.S. and U.K. ban on Russian oil imports will be far less disruptive to global markets than a full international embargo. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down by $15 or 12.1 percent at $108.70 a barrel.

The markets also benefited from bargain hunting, as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent weakness.