The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after halting the three-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 620 points or 2.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 27,720-point plateau although it’s expected to rebound again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with bargain hunting expected particularly among the technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, properties, casinos and technology stocks.
For the day, the index plunged 512.37 points or 1.81 percent to finish at the daily low of 27,718.67 after peaking at 28,060.93.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies slid 1.45 percent, while AIA Group fell 1.54 percent, Alibaba Group plunged 3.18 percent, Alibaba Health Info tanked 3.12 percent, ANTA Sports lost 1.65 percent, China Life Insurance and Meituan both dipped 1.41 percent, China Mengniu Dairy soared 2.86 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 1.93 percent, China Resources Land cratered 3.14 percent, CITIC was down 1.03 percent, CNOOC sank 2.27 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 0.50 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 3.00 percent, Hang Lung Properties spiked 2.04 percent, Henderson Land slipped 1.13 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas eased 0.45 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.80 percent, Longfor weakened 1.42 percent, New World Development surrendered 2.66 percent, Sands China declined 2.79 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 1.89 percent, Techtronic Industries plummeted 9.49 percent, Xiaomi Corporation retreated 2.87 percent and WuXi Biologics skidded 2.91 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks opened higher on Thursday and remained solidly in the green throughout the trading day.
The Dow surged 433.79 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 34,021.45, while the NASDAQ advanced 93.31 points or 0.72 percent to end at 13,124.99 and the S&P 500 climbed 49.46 points or 1.22 percent to close at 4,112.50.
The rally on Wall Street came as investors scooped up bargains following heavy losses in recent sessions, which were driven by inflation concerns.
In economic news, the Labor Department said producer prices increased more than expected in April. The Labor Department also said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Thursday, weighed down by rising worries about outlook for energy demand and on news that Colonial Pipeline has resumed operations at its facilities. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $2.26 or 3.4 percent at $63.82 a barrel, a two-week low.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will release final Q1 numbers for gross domestic product later today; in the previous reading, GDP was up 0.2 percent on quarter and down 3.0 percent on year.
Market Analysis
Higher Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market
2021-05-14 01:00:12
