Hong Kong Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 520 points or 3.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,510-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation following recent gains and rising treasury yields. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday with damage across the board - especially from the properties, technology stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index plunged 403.30 points or 2.38 percent to finish at 16,511.28 after trading between 16,508.37 and 16,923.12.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group declined 4.34 percent, while Alibaba Health Info dropped 3.04 percent, ANTA Sports skidded 3.30 percent, China Life Insurance shed 1.82 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slumped 3.43 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.59 percent, China Resources Land slipped 0.48 percent, CITIC jumped 1.24 percent, CNOOC was down 0.40 percent, Country Garden softened 0.21 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical weakened 3.33 percent, Galaxy Entertainment retreated 4.10 percent, Hang Lung Properties dipped 0.46 percent, Henderson Land stumbled 3.60 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.91 percent, JD.com surrendered 5.55 percent, Li Ning plunged 6.45 percent, Longfor lost 1.47 percent, Meituan tumbled 6.17 percent, New World Development plummeted 7.75 percent, Techtronic Industries eased 0.07 percent, Xiaomi Corporation sank 2.19 percent, WuXi Biologics tanked 6.35 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Lenovo were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Wednesday, slipping into the red in afternoon trade and ending in negative territory.

The Dow shed 99.99 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 30,423.81, while the NASDAQ sank 91.89 points or 0.85 percent to end at 10,680.51 and the S&P 500 lost 24.82 points or 0.67 percent to close at 3,695.16.

Profit taking contributed to the pullback on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the strong gains on Monday and Tuesday. The major averages ended Tuesday's trading well off their highs of the session, although the Dow still reached its best closing level in almost a month.

Lingering concerns about higher interest rates and the impact on the global economy also continued to weigh on the markets along with a jump in treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note moved sharply higher following a modest pullback on Tuesday, reaching its highest levels in 14 years.

Stocks regained some ground following the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts. The Beige Book said economic activity in the U.S. has expanded modestly since September, although conditions varied across industries and districts.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday as data showed declines in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.73 or 3.3 percent at $85.55 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide September unemployment data later today; in August, the jobless rate was 4.1 percent.