Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in consecutive trading days, dropping more than 575 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,915-point plateau and it's got another weak lead for Friday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on surging crude oil prices that correspond with tensions in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to open lower.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the property and technology companies were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index tumbled 248.04 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 25,915.20 after trading between 25,840.55 and 26,115.07.

Among the actives, AIA declined 1.74 percent, while Alibaba Group lost 0.84 percent, Baidu slipped 0.50 percent, Bank of China rose 0.59 percent, BOC Hong Kong eased 0.18 percent, China Construction Bank added 0.68 percent, China Life Insurance stumbled 1.76 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.29 percent, China Mobile climbed 0.72 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical rallied 1.56 percent, China Shenhua Energy spiked 1.93 percent, CITIC gathered 0.46 percent, CNOOC soared 2.93 percent, Hong Kong Exchange sank 1.06 percent, HSBC tanked 2.01 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.70 percent, JD.com dropped 1.25 percent, Meituan skidded 1.36 percent, NetEase plummeted 2.93 percent, Nongfu Spring contracted 1.70 percent, PetroChina surged 4.23 percent. Ping An Insurance shed 0.98 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing slumped 1.43 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 0.51 percent, Tencent Holdings retreated 1.75 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tumbled 1.95 percent, WuXi AppTec gained 0.66 percent and Zijin Mining plunged 3.27 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday, dipped midday before ticking higher but still finished in the red.

The Dow dropped 179.71 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 49,310.32, while the NASDAQ sank 219.06 points or 0.89 percent to end at 24,438.50 and the S&P 500 lost 29.50 points or 0.41 percent to close at 7,108.40.

Profit taking contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street following Wednesday's rally, which sent the NASDAQ and S&P to record closing highs.

A steep drop by shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) also weighed on the markets, after the tech giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings but failed to raise its full-year guidance.

Concerns about a re-escalation of the U.S.-Iran war also weighed on the markets after President Donald Trump said he has ordered the Navy to "shoot and kill any boat" that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, keeping oil supply concerns elevated. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was up $2.49 or 2.68 percent at $95.45 per barrel.