Little Movement Seen For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 750 points or 3.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 24,030-point plateau and it's likely to remain rangebound on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amidst conflicting economic data, trade updates and geopolitical events. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index stumbled 331.56 points or 1.36 percent to finish at 24,035.38.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Thursday before finally ticking up into the green to finish slightly higher.

The Dow climbed 101.85 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 42,967.62, while the NASDAQ added 46.61 points or 0.24 percent to close at 19,662.48 and the S&P 500 rose 23.02 points or 0.38 percent to end at 6,045.26.

The turnaround on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest U.S. inflation data, with a report from the Labor Department showing producer prices crept up by less than expected in May.

Stocks moved lower earlier in the day due in part to lingering uncertainty about trade amid a lack of details about the U.S.-China trade deal announced on Wednesday.

Crude oil futures showed a modest move back to the downside during trading on Thursday, with profit taking limited by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear developments. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery eased $0.11 to $68.04 per barrel.