Hang Seng May Hand Back Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked higher in two of three trading days since ethe end of the two-day losing streak in which it has tumbled almost 1,100 points or 4.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 23,480-point plateau although it figures to see renewed consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tariff concerns, particularly among the technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the properties and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the financial shares.

For the day, the index gained 139.07 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 23,483.32 after trading between 23,350.73 and 23,596.85.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group jumped 1.41 percent, while Alibaba Health Info perked 0.20 percent, ANTA Sports improved 0.97 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.38 percent, China Resources Land rallied 1.57 percent, China Resources Mixc skyrocketed 10.75 percent, CITIC dropped 0.62 percent, CNOOC slumped 0.97 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dipped 0.21 percent, Haier Smart Home tumbled 1.31 percent, Hang Lung Properties soared 1.98 percent, Henderson Land increased 0.89 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.45 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.36 percent, JD.com spiked 1.80 percent, Lenovo accelerated 1.95 percent, Li Auto surged 2.70 percent, Li Ning climbed 1.06 percent, Meituan added 0.88 percent, New World Development gained 0.75 percent, Nongfu Spring plummeted 8.30 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.57 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 1.03 percent, WuXi Biologics strengthened 1.16 percent and China Mengniu Dairy and Galaxy Entertainment were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed, ending solidly under water.

The Dow dropped 132.71 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 42,454.79, while the NASDAQ tumbled 372.84 points or 2.04 percent to close at 17,899.02 and the S&P 500 sank 64,45 points or 1.12 percent to end at 5,712.20.

The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came as big-name tech stocks came under pressure, reflecting ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Stocks saw further downside after the White House said Trump plans to announce new tariffs on auto imports later this afternoon.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February.

Oil prices moved higher Wednesday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, while renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports also boosted prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.65 or about 0.94 percent at $69.65 a barrel.