Hang Seng Overdue For Support On Thursday

The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, tumbling almost 600 points or 3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng now rests just above the 19,600-point plateau, although bargain hunting is likely in order on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to easing inflation concerns. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday with damage across the board, especially from the property and technology sectors.

For the day, the index plummeted 392.60 points or 1.96 percent to finish at 19,610.84 after trading between 19,469.11 and 19,956.51.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group lost 1.84 percent, while Alibaba Health Info slumped 3.23 percent, ANTA Sports retreated 3.27 percent, China Life Insurance slipped 1.55 percent, China Mengniu Dairy was down 1.44 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) eased 0.54 percent, China Resources Land fell 1.60 percent, CITIC shed 0.70 percent, CNOOC sank 0.93 percent, Country Garden tanked 5.85 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical skidded 2.58 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slid 1.59 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 2.50 percent, Henderson Land, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 1.35 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.97 percent, JD.com tumbled 4.46 percent, Lenovo sank 2.13 percent, Li Ning declined 3.40 percent, Longfor plummeted 16.40 percent, Meituan surrendered 3.64 percent, New World Development lost 1.12 percent, Techtronic Industries weakened 3.12 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 2.04 percent and WuXi Biologics plunged 9.26 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly higher on Wednesday and stayed that way throughout the day, ending at three-month closing highs.

The Dow spiked 535.10 points or 1.63 percent to finish at 33,309.51, while the NASDAQ surged 360.88 points or 2.89 percent to end at 12,854.80 and the S&P 500 jumped 87.77 points or 2.13 percent to close at 4,210.24.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly came in flat in the month of July.

The tamer than expected inflation data has led to speculation that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes at its September meeting.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in gasoline inventories in the U.S. last week. A weak dollar and increased demand for gasoline also contributed to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended higher by $1.43 or 1.6 percent at $91.93 a barrel.