(RTTNews) – The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 1,000 points or 4.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 24,200-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on rising oil prices and stimulus optimism in the United States. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the casinos, properties and oil companies were tempered by support from the financials and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index dipped 49.51 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 24,193.35 after trading between 24,021.93 and 24,263.33.
Among the actives, Xiaomi plummeted 3.92 percent, while Wharf Real Estate plunged 3.57 percent, Sands China tanked 2.85 percent, WH Group tumbled 2.60 percent, AAC Technologies spiked 2.11 percent, Galaxy entertainment skidded 1.95 percent, Techtronic industries jumped 1.81 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas retreated 1.59 percent, CITIC declined 1.55 percent, WuXi Biologics climbed 1.48 percent, CNOOC and Henderson Land both surrendered 1.03 percent, New World Development sank 0.77 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties dropped 0.75 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 0.67 percent, Power Assets shed 0.60 percent, Alibaba Group added 0.49 percent, BOC Hong Kong gained 0.47 percent, China Resources Land lost 0.41 percent, Ping An Insurance rose 0.38 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.31 percent, China Mengniu Dairy increased 0.27 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical was up 0.26 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.25 percent, China Mobile eased 0.10 percent and Hang Lung Properties was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks opened higher on Thursday and mostly remained in the green throughout the session, extending gains from the previous day.
The Dow added 122.05 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 28,425.51, while the NASDAQ gained 56.38 points or 0.50 percent to end at 11,420.98 and the S&P 500 rose 27.38 points or 0.80 percent to close at 3,446.83.
The strength on Wall Street reflects continued optimism about a coronavirus stimulus bill following the latest comments from President Donald Trump – who pulled out of negotiations of a new stimulus earlier this week but now says “we have a really good chance of doing something.”
On the economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims came in higher than expected last week.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Thursday due to the impact of Hurricane Delta on crude output in the Gulf of Mexico, and on hopes the U.S. will see some sort of stimulus sometime soon. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November were up $1.24 or 3.1 percent at $41.19 a barrel.
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