Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 340 points or 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 29,620-point plateau although it’s expected to recover on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive after a couple of days of weakness, although sinking crude oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, properties and oil and technology stocks.

For the day, the index plummeted 513.81 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 28,621.92 after trading between 28,506.76 and 28,778.36.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies fell 1.30 percent, while AIA Group retreated 2.19 percent, Alibaba Group tanked 2.80 percent, Alibaba Health Info shed 1.32 percent, ANTA Sports cratered 7.67 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 1.02 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slid 1.14 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) plummeted 5.88 percent, China Resources Land eased 0.13 percent, CITIC tumbled 2.61 percent, CNOOC dropped 1.56 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slipped 0.94 percent, Galaxy Entertainment skidded 2.37 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.47 percent, Henderson Land gave away 0.85 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.48 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 1.82 percent, Longfor was down 0.20 percent, Meituan plunged 3.88 percent, New World Development sank 1.64 percent, Sands China surrendered 1.72 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 0.58 percent, Techtronic Industries fell 0.57 percent, Xiaomi Corporation lost 1.31 percent and WuXi Biologics weakened 0.92 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages shook off early weakness on Wednesday and finished firmly in the green, snapping a two-day slide.

The Dow spiked 316.01 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 34,137.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 163.95 points or 1.19 percent to end at 13,950.22 and the S&P 500 climbed 38.48 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,173.42.

Despite concerns about high valuations, traders have largely been reluctant to sell stocks amid worries about missing out on further upside.

Stocks linked to the economy reopening saw significant strength, while shares of Netflix (NFLX) moved sharply lower after the company reported much weaker than expected subscriber growth.

Crude oil futures declined sharply on Wednesday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus infections in India. Data showing an unexpected uptick in U.S. crude inventories also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June fell $1.32 or 2.1 percent at $61.35 a barrel, the lowest close since April 13.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide March unemployment figures later today; in February, the jobless rate was 7.2 percent.