Higher Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 480 points or 2.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,740-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the oversold Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting on the docket as window dressing before the end of the year. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index dropped 157.77 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 19,741.14 after trading between 19,539.84 and 19,764.52.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group declined 2.45 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plunged 4.53 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 1.65 percent, China Mengniu Dairy eased 0.14 percent, China Resources Land skidded 1.15 percent, CITIC sank 0.97 percent, CNOOC fell 0.40 percent, Country Garden stumbled 1.87 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical added 0.60 percent, Galaxy Entertainment lost 0.57 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 1.04 percent, Henderson Land dipped 0.19 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.93 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.25 percent, JD.com plummeted 5.38 percent, Lenovo tumbled 3.18 percent, Li Ning retreated 2.39 percent, Meituan slid 0.22 percent, New World Development surrendered 2.89 percent, Techtronic Industries weakened 1.63 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tanked 3.21 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 3.03 percent and China Life Insurance was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher and remained firmly elevated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 345.09 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 33,220.80, while the NASDAQ spiked 264.80 points or 2.59 percent to end at 10,478.09 and the S&P 500 advanced 66.06 points or 1.75 percent to close at 3,849.28.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting, particularly among tech stocks, which moved sharply lower over the two preceding sessions.

Overall trading activity remained subdued amid the holidays, however, with below average volume potentially exaggerating recent moves.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended December 24.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, although a weak dollar limited oil's downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended lower by $0.56 at $78.40 a barrel.