Higher Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, collecting more than 80 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng now rests just above the 19,945-point plateau and it’s looking at additional support again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher thanks mainly to bargain hunting after heavy selling in the region. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the casinos and oil and financial companies were offset by weakness from the property and technology stocks.

For the day, the index rose 11.65 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 19,946.36 after trading between 19,665.49 and 20,053.11.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies accelerated 3.06 percent, while Alibaba Group lost 0.41 percent, Alibaba Health Info and CITIC both fell 0.25 percent, ANTA Sports strengthened 1.61 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.18 percent, China Mengniu Dairy eased 0.12 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.26 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 1.30 percent, CNOOC surged 6.73 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical shed 0.76 percent, Galaxy Entertainment climbed 1.47 percent, Hang Lung Properties retreated 1.24 percent, Henderson Land tumbled 1.69 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas declined 1.59 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.22 percent, JD.com soared 3.58 percent, Lenovo advanced 0.84 percent, Li Ning rallied 2.88 percent, Meituan jumped 1.79 percent, New World Development dropped 0.82 percent, Techtronic Industries skidded 1.00 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 3.13 percent, WuXi Biologics sank 0.81 percent and Country Garden was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up mixed and flat after the major averages shook off early support on Wednesday, fading late and ending on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow added 61.75 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 33,301.93, while the NASDAQ eased 1.81 points or 0.01 percent to close at 12,488.93 and the S&P 500 rose 8.76 points or 0.21 percent to end at 4,183.96.

The markets had opened higher on bargain hunting and earnings optimism but gave back most of those gains as the day progressed on worries over a Covid-fueled economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said that pending home sales fell for the fifth straight month in March, although the decline was less than expected.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by data showing a drop in gasoline and distillate stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for rose $0.32 or 0.3 percent at $102.02 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see March data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In February, imports were up 6.2 percent on year and exports rose an annual 0.9 percent for a trade deficit of HKD32.1 billion.