No Relief Yet For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, surrendering more than 475 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 17,300-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on rising concerns about the outlook for interest rates and ongoing geopolitical risks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday with heavy selling across the board, especially among the finance, property and technology sectors.

For the day, the index plummeted 436,63 points or 2.46 percent to finish at 17,295.89 after trading between 17,292.36 and 17,540.46.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group retreated 2.82 percent, while Alibaba Health Info skidded 2.36 percent, ANTA Sports surrendered 3.50 percent, China Life Insurance plummeted 6.69 percent, China Mengniu Dairy dipped 1.56 percent, China Resources Land fell 1.84 percent, CITIC stumbled 2.89 percent, CNOOC shed 1.89 percent, Country Garden lost 1.86 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slid 1.78 percent, Galaxy Entertainment eased 0.46 percent, Hang Lung Properties was down 1.16 percent, Henderson Land slumped 2.40 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 2.31 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 2.32 percent, JD.com plunged 5.45 percent, Lenovo surged 6.34 percent, Li Ning tanked 5.14 percent, Meituan declined 2.90 percent, New World Development slipped 1.49 percent, Techtronic Industries and Hengan International both dove 1.02 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rallied 3.03 percent and WuXi Biologics tumbled 2.96 percent.

The lead from Wall Street remains soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday, bounced back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the session before late weakness nudged them firmly into the red.

The Dow dropped 250.91 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 33,414.17, while the NASDAQ sank 128.13 points or 0.96 percent to end at 13,186.18 and the S&P 500 lost 36.60 points or 0.85 percent to close at 4,278.00.

The volatility on Wall Street came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered highly anticipated remarks at an Economic Club of New York luncheon. Powell argued that inflation is “still too high” and warned additional monetary policy tightening may be needed.

Treasury yields moved higher following Powell’s remarks, extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions and once again reaching 16-year highs.

In economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined to a nearly nine-month low last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday after early losses, as Israel reportedly prepared to move into Gaza to fight against Hamas. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $1.05 or 1.2 percent at $89.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide September numbers for consumer prices later today; in August, inflation was flat on month and up 1.8 percent on year.