Lower Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, tumbling more than 620 points or 3.7 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 17,000-point plateau and it's likely to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed ahead of more earnings news and economic data. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to track that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the property sector offered mild support.

For the day, the index tumbled 306.08 points or 1.77 percent to finish at 17,004.97 after trading between 16,964.52 and 17,288.46.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group skidded 1.21 percent, while Alibaba Health Info weakened 1.25 percent, ANTA Sports lost 0.79 percent, China Life Insurance surrendered 2.24 percent, China Mengniu Dairy dropped 1.15 percent, China Resources Land was down 0.41 percent, CITIC stumbled 1.53 percent, CNOOC tanked 3.88 percent, Country Garden slid 0.64 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical shed 0.85 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sipped 0.58 percent, Haier Smart Home surged 5.13 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.47 percent, Henderson Land fell 0.67 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.64 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 1.14 percent, JD.com slumped 1.29 percent, Lenovo plunged 3.89 percent, Li Ning climbed 1.11 percent, Meituan plummeted 5.47 percent, New World Development eased 0.14 percent, Techtronic Industries retreated 1.79 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tumbled 2.06 percent and WuXi Biologics declined 1.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed, spent most of the day in positive territory before a late slump saw some of them end in the end.

The Dow gained 81.20 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 39,935.07, while the NASDAQ tumbled 160.69 points or 0.93 percent to end at 17,181.72 and the S&P 500 sank 27.91 points or 0.51 percent to close at 5,399.22.

Stocks gained in strength early in the session thanks to data showing a sharper than expected acceleration in U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.

The Commerce Department said the GDP growth reflected increases in consumer spending, private inventory investment, and nonresidential fixed investment - while the personal consumption expenditures price index slowed to 2.6 percent.

Also, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders plummeted in June, while the Labor Department noted a slowdown in initial jobless claims last week.

Oil climbed higher on Thursday, extending recent gains after data showed a sharper than expected acceleration in U.S. GDP growth in Q2. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September rose $0.69 at $78.28 a barrel.