Hong Kong Shares Expected To Open In The Red

The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking almost 600 points or 3.8 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 15,480-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on a deteriorating outlook for interest rate cuts. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower again on Wednesday following losses from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index slumped 218.38 points or 1.39 percent to finish at 15,485.07 after trading between 15,411.66 and 15,744.04.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group sank 2.25 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tanked 4.67 percent, ANTA Sports plunged 5.06 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.77 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slid 1.37 percent, China Resources Land shed 2.07 percent, CITIC spiked 2.17 percent, CNOOC was down 0.28 percent, Country Garden stumbled 3.93 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical lost 2.05 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slipped 0.61 percent, Hang Lung Properties added 0.33 percent, Henderson Land slumped 3.10 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 1.77 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.26 percent, JD.com weakened 3.07 percent, Lenovo tumbled 4.44 percent, Li Ning skidded 3.04 percent, Meituan retreated 4.36 percent, New World Development declined 4.01 percent, Techtronic Industries dropped 2.40 percent, Xiaomi Corporation surrendered 4.50 percent, WuXi Biologics plummeted 8.28 percent and Haier Smart Home was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower but accelerated to the downside after the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and statement.

The Dow stumbled 317.01 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 38,150.30, while the NASDAQ plummeted 345.88 points or 2.23 percent to close at 15,164.01 and the S&P 500 slumped 79.32 points or 1.61 percent to end at 4,845.65.

In the Fed’s highly anticipated monetary policy announcement, it maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent to support maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent.

However, the Fed also said it does not expect it will be appropriate to lower rates until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent – triggering a wave of selling in the markets.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector job growth in the U.S. slowed more than expected in January.

Oil prices slumped Wednesday, weighed down by data showing an unexpected jump in U.S. crude inventories last week, and concerns about the outlook for demand after data showed another contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $1.97 or 2.5 percent at $75.85 a barrel.