Rally May Stall For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, improving more than 620 points or 2.3 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 27,260-point plateau although it's likely to open under pressure on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on fading optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index improved 83.23 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 27,266.38 after trading between 27,133.77 and 27,325.98.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group shed 0.25 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and CNOOC both improved 0.65 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 1.20 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 3.94 percent, China Resources Land sank 0.31 percent, CITIC dropped 0.70 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical jumped 1.55 percent, Galaxy Entertainment vaulted 0.97 percent, Haier Smart Home increased 0.59 percent, Hang Lung Properties advanced 0.71 percent, Henderson Land added 0.49 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas climbed 0.80 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.15 percent, JD.com lost 0.18 percent, Lenovo and Nongfu Spring both expanded 0.86 percent, Li Auto accelerated 2.75 percent, Li Ning strengthened 1.10 percent, Meituan perked 0.06 percent, New World Development slumped 1.29 percent, Techtronic Industries surged 4.90 percent, Xiaomi Corporation soared 4.27 percent, WuXi Biologics spiked 3.45 percent and China Mengniu Dairy was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher but quickly headed south and hugged the line for the balance of the day, finally ending slightly under water.

The Dow shed 66.74 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 50,121.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 36.01 points or 0.16 percent to close at 23.066.47 and the S&P 500 eased 0.34 points or 0.00 percent to end at 6,941.47.

The initial strength on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in January.

However, the report also showed a significant downward revision to job growth in 2025, with the increase in employment revised to 181,000 jobs from 584,000 jobs.

The stronger-than-expected job growth in January may also have reduced the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, offsetting the initial positive reaction.

Crude oil prices climbed on Wednesday amid heightening tension between the U.S. and Iran, with Israel's intervention exacerbating the standoff. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $0.57 or 0.89 percent at $64.53 per barrel.