Rally May Stall For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's Labor Day holiday, the Hong Kong stock market had moved higher in seven straight sessions, gathering almost 1,600 points or 9.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 17,760-point plateau and it's overdue for consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft following the Federal Reserve's rate decision and statement. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher again on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financials, properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index picked up 16.12 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 17,763.03 after trading between 17,686.94 and 17,902.02.

Among the actives, Alibaba Health Info tanked 2.31 percent, while ANTA Sports added 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 1.14 percent, China Mengniu Dairy advanced 0.74 percent, China Resources Land lost 0.52 percent, CITIC skidded 1.45 percent, CNOOC rallied 2.73 percent, Country Garden plummeted 3.12 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 1.82 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slumped 1.53 percent, Haier Smart Home surged 7.83 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.23 percent, Henderson Land eased 0.21 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas slid 0.33 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.71 percent, JD.com plunged 2.71 percent, Lenovo sank 0.78 percent, Li Ning was down 0.24 percent, Meituan retreated 1.71 percent, New World Development fell 0.48 percent, Techtronic Industries soared 3.80 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 0.57 percent, WuXi Biologics declined 1.58 percent and Alibaba Group was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages were flat on Wednesday until a spike following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. It faded quickly, however, and the markets finished mixed and little changed.

The Dow gained 87.37 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 37,903.29, while the NASDAQ slumped 52.34 points or 0.33 percent to end at 15,605.48 and the S&P 500 lost 17.30 points or 0.34 percent to close at 5,018.39.

The late-day volatility came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged, citing a lack of further progress toward its 2 percent inflation objective.

Members of the Fed also reiterated they need greater confidence inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent before they consider cutting interest rates.

On the economic data front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment increased by more than expected in the month of April.

Oil prices fell to a seven-week low on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $2.93 at $79.00 a barrel, the lowest settlement since March 12.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release preliminary Q1 data for gross domestic product later today; in the three months prior, GDP was up 0.4 percent on quarter and 4.3 percent on year.