Hong Kong Bourse May Take Further Damage On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the six-day winning streak in which it had soared more than 1,000 points or 5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 17,810-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on inflation worries and geopolitical concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Friday with damage across the board, particularly among the technology and property sectors.

For the day, the index plummeted 424.76 points or 2.33 percent to finish at 17,813.45 after trading between 17,776.95 and 18,013.67.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group plunged 3.79 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and Lenovo both slid 1.60 percent, ANTA Sports shed 1.80 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.96 percent, China Mengniu Dairy declined 3.51 percent, China Resources Land skidded 2.87 percent, CITIC tumbled 3.63 percent, Country Garden slumped 3.23 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical weakened 3.06 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sank 2.38 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 2.78 percent, Henderson Land retreated 3.28 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 1.75 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 1.79 percent, JD.com plummeted 11.47 percent, Meituan stumbled 3.21 percent, New World Development surrendered 3.74 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 3.78 percent, Xiaomi Corporation eased 0.47 percent, WuXi Biologics slipped 1.11 percent and CNOOC and Li Ning were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly negative as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly headed south, although the Dow was able to recover before the close.

The Dow added 39.15 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 33,670.29, while the NASDAQ tumbled 166.99 points or 1.23 percent to end at 13,407.23 and the S&P 500 slumped 21.83 points or 0.50 percent to close at 4,327.78.

For the week, the Dow added 0.8 percent, the NASDAQ dipped 0.2 percent and S&P rose 0.5 percent.

Selling pressure emerged following the release of a report from the University of Michigan showing a slump in consumer sentiment and a surge in inflation expectations. The data generated some negative sentiment, although a decrease in treasury yields helped to limit the downside.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Oil prices rose sharply on Friday amid rising concerns about the potential impact on global crude supplies due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November spiked $4.78 or 5.8 percent at $87.69 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 6 percent in the week.