Hong Kong Stock Market Set To End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, slumping almost 300 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,620-point plateau although it's tipped to stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mostly higher and the U.S. bourses were solidly in the green and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, gains from the oil companies and mixed performances from the technology and property sectors.

For the day, the index lost 47.36 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 20,622.68 after trading between 20,533.42 and 20,772.63.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group plummeted 1.83 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tumbled 1.18 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 0.95 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.34 percent, China Mengniu Dairy climbed 1.53 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.82 percent, China Resources Land skidded 1.04 percent, CITIC improved 1.07 percent, CNOOC strengthened 1.61 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 6.42 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged 4.56 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 3.83 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 1.82 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 1.45 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.24 percent, JD.com plunged 1.53 percent, Lenovo gained 0.79 percent, Li Ning rose 0.45 percent, Longfor tanked 1.24 percent, Meituan retreated 1.10 percent, New World Development sank 0.38 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 2.87 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rallied 2.36 percent, WuXi Biologics declined 1.09 percent and Henderson Land was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday, quickly moving into positive territory and accelerating into the close.

The Dow jumped 332.04 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 32,529.63, while the NASDAQ climbed 130.17 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,162.59 and the S&P 500 improved 48.82 points or 1.21 percent to close at 4,072.43.

The early weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Commerce Department report showing a continued contraction in U.S. economic activity in the second quarter of 2022, putting the U.S. in a technical recession.

However, economists cast doubt on whether the economy is actually in a recession, citing other indicators indicating continued growth and persistent strength in the labor market.

The data may have still added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes at future meetings, contributing to the turnaround on Wall Street.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Thursday as worries about the outlook for energy demand due to slowing global economic growth weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.84 or 0.9 percent at $96.42 a barrel.