Rally May Stall For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 280 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,760-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative amid rising treasury yields and pessimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks, financials and oil companies, while the property sector was mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 261.20 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 20,760.15 after trading between 20,448.84 and 20,942.26.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group perked 0.05 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 2.29 percent, ANTA Sports rose 0.17 percent, China Life Insurance accelerated 3.66 percent, China Mengniu Dairy strengthened 2.33 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.19 percent, CITIC improved 0.97 percent, CNOOC added 0.43 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical retreated 1.24 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 1.03 percent, Haier Smart Home plunged 3.17 percent, Hang Lung Properties increased 0.76 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 0.33 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.06 percent, JD.com rallied 2.98 percent, Lenovo tumbled 1.25 percent, Li Auto surged 6.34 percent, Li Ning plummeted 4.86 percent, Meituan soared 5.47 percent, New World Development gained 0.25 percent, Nongfu Spring tanked 1.63 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 4.50 percent, WuXi Biologics jumped 2.55 percent and Henderson Land and Techtronic Industries were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, albeit bouncing off session lows.

The Dow plunged 409.94 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 42,514.95, while the NASDAQ plummeted 296.47 points or 1.60 percent to close at 18,276.47 and the S&P 500 dropped 53.78 points or 0.92 percent to end at 5,797.42.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid a continued increase by treasury yields, which have moved sharply higher over the past few sessions.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note has risen to its highest level in almost three months amid worries the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates slower than previously anticipated.

While the Fed is still widely expected to lower interest rates by a quarter-point next month, there is increasing skepticism about another rate cut in December.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December fell $0.97 or 1.35 percent at $70.77 a barrel.