Slow Start Likely For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slumping almost 560 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,740-point plateau and it's got a weak lead again for Friday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns of economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets ended mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, property stocks, oil companies and technology shares.

For the day, the index slipped 18.41 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 19,743.79 after trading between 19,567.62 and 19,854.49.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 3.05 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and Meituan both dipped 0.39 percent, ANTA Sports eased 0.11 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 1.24 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.58 percent, CITIC dropped 0.97 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.08 percent, Country Garden plunged 2.24 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tanked 1.78 percent, Galaxy Entertainment shed 0.77 percent, Hang Lung Properties declined 1.49 percent, Henderson Land weakened 1.07 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas jumped 1.32 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stumbled 1.12 percent, JD.com slid 0.44 percent, Lenovo sank 0.90 percent, Li Ning was down 0.20 percent, New World Development tumbled 1.69 percent, Techtronic Industries plummeted 2.37 percent, Xiaomi Corporation lost 0.71 percent, WuXi Biologics soared 2.98 percent and China Life Insurance was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and only the NASDAQ was able to peek slightly into the green by the end of the session.

The Dow tumbled 221.82 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 33,309.51, while the NASDAQ rose 22.07 points or 0.18 percent to close at 12,328.51 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.02 points or 0.17 percent to end at 4,130.62.

The weakness on Wall Street came among disappointing earnings news from the likes of Disney (DIS), while renewed concerns about turmoil in the banking sector also weighed.

In economic news, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose less than expected, adding to optimism the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month.

The Labor Department also said that initial jobless claims climbed to their highest level in well over a year last week.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday amid uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand, while a firm dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.3 percent at $70.87 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release Q1 data for gross domestic product later today, with forecasts calling for an increase of 5.3 percent on quarter and 2.7 percent on year. That follows the flat quarterly reading and the 4.2 percent contraction in the three months prior.