Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, tumbling more than 550 points or 2.7 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,520-point plateau and it's likely to open in the red again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative following a downgrade in the United States' credit rating. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday with damage in all sectors, especially the properties, financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index plummeted 493.74 points or 2.47 percent to finish at 19,517.38 after trading between 19,480.67 and 19,981.00.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group weakened 2.76 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plunged 3.76 percent, ANTA Sports and Galaxy Entertainment both fell 1.96 percent, China Life Insurance was down 1.18 percent, China Mengniu Dairy declined 3.17 percent, China Resources Land lost 1.97 percent, CITIC tanked 3.56 percent, CNOOC skidded 2.67 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 17.98 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plummeted 4.92 percent, Hang Lung Properties eased 1.06 percent, Henderson Land sank 2.12 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas retreated 3.14 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stumbled 2.91 percent, JD.com surrendered 3.48 percent, Lenovo dropped 2.16 percent, Li Ning shed 2.10 percent, Meituan tumbled 3.30 percent, New World Development slumped 2.84 percent, Techtronic Industries surged 3.05 percent, Xiaomi Corporation dipped 1.64 percent and WuXi Biologics slid 1.68 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 348.16 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 35,282.52, while the NASDAQ sank 310.47 points or 2.17 percent to end at 13,973.45 and the S&P 500 dropped 63.34 points or 1.38 percent to close at 4,513.39.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after credit rating agency Fitch Ratings unexpectedly downgraded the United States' credit rating. Fitch downgraded the U.S.' long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA, citing a "steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years."

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said U.S. private sector employment jumped more than expected in July. But while the report points to continued strength in the U.S. labor market, the data may lead to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in July.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday amid concerns about outlook for demand, despite data showing a massive drop in crude stockpiles in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $.88 or 2.3 percent at $79.49 a barrel.