Hong Kong Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 1,300 points or 6.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,540-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with financials likely to lead the way lower amid fresh concerns over the stability of the sector. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, technology stocks and energy companies, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index spiked 291.91 points or 1.52 percent to finish at 19,539.87 after trading between 19,431.09 and 19,745.44.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group accelerated 2.56 percent, while Alibaba Health Info skyrocketed 5.59 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 2.25 percent, China Life Insurance soared 3.48 percent, China Mengniu Dairy increased 1.20 percent, China Resources Land strengthened 2.05 percent, CITIC spiked 2.87 percent, CNOOC gained 0.85 percent, Country Garden surged 4.54 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical climbed 1.94 percent, Galaxy Entertainment was down 0.20 percent, Hang Lung Properties improved 1.77 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.72 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gathered 0.28 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 2.91 percent, JD.com jumped2.38 percent, Lenovo perked 0.14 percent, Li Ning slid 0.23 percent, Meituan added 1.04 percent, New World Development fell 0.66 percent, Techtronic Industries rose 0.30 percent, Xiaomi Corporation sank 0.73 percent and WuXi Biologics advanced 1.60 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is largely negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Wednesday. A late push pared the losses and nudged the NASDAQ barely into the green.

The Dow tumbled 280.83 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 31,874.57, while the NASDAQ perked 5.90 points or 0.05 percent to close at 11,434.05 and the S&P 500 sank 27.36 points or 0.70 percent to end at 3,891.93.

The weakness on Wall Street was fueled by weakness from the financial sector.

In addition to ongoing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, short-term debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse contributed to the bearish sentiment in the market.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in U.S. fell slightly more than expected in February. Also, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower last month.

Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest level since December 2021 on Wednesday, amid rising concerns about global economic growth and worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate futures for April tumbled 5 percent at $67.61 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide February figures for unemployment later today; in January, the jobless rate was 3.4 percent.