Hong Kong Stocks Expected To Open Under Pressure

The Hong Kong stock market has ended lower in three straight sessions, retreating more than 830 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng now rests just above the 20,680-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.

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

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the properties, casinos and technology stocks.

For the day, the index dropped 262.45 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 20,682.22 after trading between 20,483.86 and 20,920.60.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies surrendered 3.11 percent, while Alibaba Group declined 3.09 percent, Alibaba Health Info plunged 6.15 percent, ANTA Sports and China Life Insurance both eased 0.17 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slumped 1.39 percent, China Resources Land lost 0.28 percent, CITIC added 0.46 percent, CNOOC weakened 2.51 percent, Country Garden stumbled 2.60 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical sank 1.32 percent, Galaxy Entertainment retreated 2.66 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.24 percent, Henderson Land climbed 0.91 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.11 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.64 percent, JD.com cratered 6.52 percent, Lenovo dropped 1.52 percent, Li Ning skidded 1.70 percent, Meituan tanked 4.90 percent, New World Development shed 0.48 percent, Techtronic Industries jumped 1.23 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tumbled 4.16 percent, WuXi Biologics plummeted 6.82 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Thursday, accelerating into the red as the day progressed.

The Dow tumbled 368.03 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 34,792.76, while the NASDAQ dropped 278.41 points or 2.07 percent to close at 13,174.41 and the S&P 500 sank 65.79 points or 1.48 percent to end at 4,393.66.

The sharp pullback on Wall Street came as Treasury yields showed a notable move back to the upside after falling on Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note more than offset yesterday’s drop, reaching its highest closing level since December 2018.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the rebound by Treasury yields after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the International Monetary Fund that it would be appropriate to raise rates “a little more quickly” and predicted a 50 basis point rate hike would be on the table at the Fed’s May meeting.

Early in the session, stocks benefited from some upbeat earnings news from the likes of Tesla (TSLA), American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL).

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said growth in Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in April.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid concerns about global crude supply and strong demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $1.60 or 1.6 percent at $103.79 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see March figures for consumer prices later today; in February, overall inflation was up 0.8 percent on month and 1.6 percent on year.