Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 700 points or 3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 24,520-point plateau although it's likely bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing inflation concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the technology stocks and properties were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index sank 72.36 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 24,517.76 after trading between 24,517.75 and 24,867.81.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rose 0.26 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 1.09 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 2.28 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 0.53 percent, China Resources Land plunged 2.07 percent, CITIC and WuXi Biologics both skidded 0.37 percent, CNOOC fell 0.11 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical advanced 0.70 percent, Haier Smart Home sank 0.20 percent, Hang Lung Properties tumbled 0.93 percent, Henderson Land retreated 0.75 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.29 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.14 percent, JD.com dropped 0.24 percent, Lenovo tanked 0.99 percent, Li Auto perked 0.09 percent, Li Ning added 0.63 percent, Meituan surrendered 1.66 percent, New World Development plummeted 2.34 percent, Nongfu Spring stumbled 0.98 percent, Techtronic Industries eased 0.06 percent, Xiaomi Corporation declined 0.61 percent and China Mengniu Dairy and Galaxy Entertainment were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, dipped midday but then bounced higher heading into the close.

The Dow jumped 231.49 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 44,254.78, while the NASDAQ added 52.69 points or 0.25 percent to close at a fresh record high of 20,730.49 and the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points or 0.32 percent to end at 6,263.70.

Stocks came under pressure in late morning trade following reports President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a meeting with House Republicans.

However, the major averages moved back to the upside after Trump said he's "not planning" on firing Powell.

The choppy trading on Wall Street also followed a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in June. While the data helped ease inflation concerns, the Fed is still seen as likely to leave interest rates unchanged until September at the earliest.

Crude oil prices dropped for the third straight day on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels last week and are slightly above the five-year average for this time of year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell $0.14 to settle at $65.38 per barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release unemployment figures for June later today; in May, the jobless rate was 3.5 percent.