Hong Kong Stock Market Overdue For Consolidation

(RTTNews) - Hong Kong Stock Market Overdue For Consolidation The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, collecting more than 1,825 points or 7.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng now sits just above the 24,280-point plateau although investors are likely to lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on surging oil prices and AI concerns. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher again on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks, industrial issues, properties and utilities.

For the day, the index surged 877.48 points or 3.67 percent to finish at 24,796.98 after trading between 24,281.77 and 24,871.92.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but trended sharply lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow plummeted 1,833.06 points or 3.44 percent to finish at 51,523.06, while the NASDAQ crashed 1,421.52 points or 5.52 percent to close at 24,315.00 and the S&P 500 tumbled 334.89 points or 4.36 percent to end at 7,353.73.

The sharp pullback on Wall Street came amid a renewed sell-off in the tech sector, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ plummeting into contraction territory on concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence trade amid expected tighter regulation.

Semiconductor stocks showed a particularly steep drop, resulting in a 12.3 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Considerable weakness was is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 10 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week; the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on October's employment situation later today.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday as investors look for the next steps to resolve the U.S.-Iran standoff - either through diplomacy or hostility. West Texas Intermediate crude for December was up $2.29 or 2.60 percent at $90.41 per barrel.