Renewed Support Called For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 330 points or 1.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 23,890-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is generally positive, with technology stocks likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday with damage across the board, especially among the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index plunged 255.75 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 23,892.32 after trading between 23,827.15 and 24,061.08.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group plunged 3.83 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 0.24 percent, ANTA Sports shed 0.66 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.63 percent, China Mengniu Dairy added 0.51 percent, China Resources Land jumped 1.59 percent, CITIC fell 0.55 percent, CNOOC dipped 0.22 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rallied 2.93 percent, ENN Energy eased 0.08 percent, Galaxy Entertainment climbed 1.18 percent, Haier Smart Home skidded 1.06 percent, Hang Lung Properties cratered 3.12 percent, Henderson Land plummeted 8.64 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.60 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.81 percent, JD.com tumbled 1.88 percent, Lenovo contracted 1.23 percent, Li Auto dropped 0.94 percent, Li Ning crashed 2.73 percent, Meituan tanked 2.45 percent, New World Development declined 1.44 percent, Nongfu Spring slumped 1.40 percent, Techtronic Industries weakened 1.10 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 2.13 percent and WuXi Biologics advanced 0.78 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the session, ending with modest gains.

The Dow jumped 217.54 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 44,458.30, while the NASDAQ rallied 192.88 points or 0.94 percent to end at 20,611.34 and the S&P 500 added 37.74 points or 0.61 percent to close at 6,263.26.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union.

Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the markets higher, with the AI darling jumping by 1.8 percent and briefly becoming the first company to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its June monetary policy meeting, which revealed most participants generally agree the central bank is well positioned to wait for more clarity on the outlook for inflation and the economy before adjusting interest rates.

Crude oil price inched higher on Wednesday, as Saudi projections for increased demand were offset by a jump in U.S. oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery ticked higher by $0.05 to settle at $68.38 per barrel.