Bargain Hunting May Lift Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in seven straight sessions, tumbling more than 920 points or 5.6 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 16,100-point plateau although it should finally halt its slide on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously ahead of key U.S. inflation data later this week, which will affect the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower again on Wednesday following losses from the financials and energy stocks, while the properties and technology shares were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 92.74 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 16,097.28 after trading between 16,036.42 and 16,247.30.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group sank 0.65 percent, while Alibaba Health Info retreated 1.34 percent, ANTA Sports climbed 1.06 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 1.76 percent, China Mengniu Dairy skidded 0.73 percent, China Resources Land dipped 0.19 percent, CITIC shed 0.53 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.04 percent, Country Garden stumbled 1.13 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dropped 0.72 percent, Galaxy Entertainment declined 1.22 percent, Haier Smart Home added 0.69 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.44 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.34 percent, JD.com rose 0.20 percent, Lenovo plunged 2.26 percent, Li Ning advanced 091 percent, Meituan jumped 1.70 percent, New World Development rallied 1.48 percent, Techtronic Industries soared 2.15 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tumbled 1.67 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 6.26 percent and Hang Lung Properties and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and accelerated throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 170.57 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 37,695.73, while the NASDAQ rallied 111.94 points or 0.75 percent to end at 14,969.65 and the S&P 500 gained 26.95 points or 0.57 percent to close at 4,783.45.

The strength on Wall Street may have reflected optimism ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data in the comings days.

The Labor Department's reports on consumer and producer price inflation, which are due to be released on Thursday and Friday, respectively, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

With economists expecting the reports to show slowdowns in the annual rate of core price growth, the data could bolster optimism about near-term rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil prices dropped on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February delivery ended down $0.87 at $71.37 a barrel.