Hong Kong Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 800 points or 4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 17,730-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on geopolitical concerns and the dimming outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday as the financials, properties and technology stocks ended under pressure.

For the day, the index fell 40.82 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 17,732.52 after trading between 17,625.89 and 17,831.18.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group shed 0.67 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tanked 3.92 percent, ANTA Sports surged 3.63 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 0.97 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slumped 0.96 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.50 percent, CITIC was down 0.43 percent, CNOOC rallied 1.48 percent, Country Garden stumbled 2.37 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical declined 1.57 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sank 0.68 percent, Hang Lung Properties lost 0.57 percent, Henderson Land advanced 0.72 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas eased 0.35 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 0.77 percent, JD.com surrendered 3.02 percent, Lenovo plummeted 10.12 percent, Li Ning slid 0.45 percent, Meituan dropped 0.70 percent, Techtronic Industries tumbled 2.70 percent, Xiaomi Corporation climbed 1.07 percent, WuXi Biologics plunged 5.39 percent and New World Development and Haier Smart Home were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the day.

The Dow tumbled 332.57 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 33,665.08, while the NASDAQ dropped 219.44 points or 1.39 percent to close at 13,314.30 and the S&P 500 sank 58.60 points or 1.34 percent to end at 4,314.60.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid rising tensions in the Middle East after a deadly missile attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people.

Hamas tried to attribute the blast to an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military said with some evidence it was not involved and the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Higher bond yields added to the negative sentiment raising concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department noted a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in September.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on rising concerns over supplies as geopolitical concerns escalated after the large explosion at the Gaza hospital. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $1.66 or 1.9 percent at $88.32 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see September data for unemployment later today, with forecasts suggesting that the jobless rate will hold steady at 2.8 percent.