Profit Taking May Dent Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 450 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,600-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly soft and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains across the board, especially among the technology companies.

For the day, the index surged 443.93 points or 2.32 percent to finish at 19,603.13 after trading between 19,061.60 and 19,660.99.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group improved 1.98 percent, while Alibaba Health Info advanced 2.22 percent, ANTA Sports added 1.56 percent, China Life Insurance and Haier Smart Home both soared 3.64 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 2.87 percent, China Resources Land accelerated 2.65 percent, CITIC jumped 2.78 percent, CNOOC gained 0.82 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical climbed 2.57 percent, Galaxy Entertainment strengthened 2.60 percent, Hang Lung Properties spiked 1.95 percent, Henderson Land increased 1.86 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.17 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.09 percent, JD.com soared 5.01 percent, Lenovo jumped 3.39 percent, Li Auto climbed 2.55 percent, Li Ning spiked 4.15 percent, Meituan skyrocketed 7.24 percent, New World Development advanced 2.53 percent, Nongfu Spring strengthened 2.68 percent, Techtronic Industries surged 5.11 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rallied 4.04 percent and WuXi Biologics accelerated 3.50 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed and ended in the red.

The Dow dropped 138.25 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 44,722.06, while the NASDAQ slumped 115.10 points or 0.60 percent to close at 19,060.48 and the S&P 500 sank 22.89 points or 0.38 percent to end at 5,998.74.

The pullback by the NASDAQ was fueled by substantial weakness among computer hardware stocks, led lower by PC makers Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) after providing disappointing earnings guidance.

Weakness among semiconductor and networking stocks also weighed on the NASDAQ, while biotechnology stocks showed a strong move to the upside.

The weakness in the broader markets came after the Commerce Department released closely watched inflation data that matched expectations. While the faster annual price growth was in line with estimates, the acceleration raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil moved slightly lower on Wednesday as traders weighed news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah against data showing a bigger than expected drop by U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery eased $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $68.72 a barrel.