Hong Kong Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market halted the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 480 points or 1.9 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 24,830-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to a rebound in crude oil prices and a spike in treasury yields. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the technology and communications companies.

For the day, the index dropped 253.63 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 24,834.12 after trading between 24,811.85 and 25,072.25.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened in the red on Wednesday and continued to trend lower throughout the session, ending at daily lows.

The Dow sank 352.10 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 51,511.59, while the NASDAQ dropped 308.24 points or 1.13 percent to close at 26,936.04 and the S&P 500 lost 58.61 points or 0.75 percent to end at 7,706.03.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came after a rebound in crude oil prices and treasury yields that followed comments a day earlier from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said that a deal with Iran may be possible after the midterm elections but said that he may instead just decide to "annihilate the Islamic Republic." He also spoke of setting up a "large military presence" on Greenland.

Crude oil prices snapped a five-day losing streak on Wednesday as prices climbed thanks to ongoing concerns about the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November delivery rose $1.90 or 2.1 percent to $92.40 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide August figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today; in July, imports were up 41.0 percent on month and exports jumped 50.7 percent for a trade deficit of HKD4.9 billion.