No Help Yet For Oversold Hang Seng Index

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, retreating more than 900 points or 4.8 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 18,330-point plateau and it's predicted to open lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished barely lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the property stocks, financials and technology companies.

For the day, the index eased 2.67 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 18,326.63 after trading between 17,900.77 and 18,399.20.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and CNOOC both climbed 0.95 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plummeted 7.09 percent, ANTA Sports rallied 1.18 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.69 percent, China Mengniu Dairy added 0.39 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.15 percent, CITIC lost 0.25 percent, Country Garden plunged 3.06 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical sank 0.51 percent, Galaxy Entertainment shed 0.38 percent, Hang Lung Properties declined 1.54 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas skidded 1.17 percent, JD.com stumbled 1.42 percent, Lenovo tanked 3.03 percent, Li Ning surged 3.43 percent, Meituan advanced 0.91 percent, New World Development dropped 0.93 percent, Techtronic Industries slumped 1.41 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.53 percent, WuXi Biologics retreated 1.43 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Henderson Land were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 290.91 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 34,474.83, while the NASDAQ slumped 157.70 points or 1.17 percent to close at 13,316.93 and the S&P 500 sank 33.97 points or 0.77 percent to end at 4,370.36.

The weakness on Wall Street came as investors continue to digest Wednesday's Federal Reserve minutes, which suggest the central bank will hold interest rates higher for longer to fight inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its manufacturing index saw a big jump in August.

Crude oil futures were up on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak on news of stimulus measures from China's central bank. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $1.01 or 1.3 percent at $80.39 a barrel.