Rebound Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 250 points or 1 percent. The Hang Seng now sits just above the 25,760-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses was mild upside and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies. For the day, the index tumbled 334.32 points or 1.28 percent to finish at 25,760.73 after trading between 25,724.82 and 25,996.88. Among the actives, Alibaba Group tanked 2.17 percent, while Alibaba Health Info shed 0.92 percent, ANTA Sports retreated 1.74 percent, China Life Insurance plummeted 3.59 percent, China Mengniu Dairy contracted 1.86 percent, China Resources Land plunged 3.10 percent, CITIC eased 0.32 percent, CNOOC fell 0.64 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dropped 1.16 percent, Galaxy Entertainment lost 0.68 percent, Haier Smart Home advanced 0.90 percent, Hang Lung Properties slumped 1.32 percent, Henderson Land cratered 2.80 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas weakened 1.37 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 1.71 percent, JD.com dipped 0.43 percent, Lenovo sank 1.01 percent, Li Ning tumbled 1.96 percent, Meituan slid 0.62 percent, New World Development surrendered 2.05 percent, Nongfu Spring crashed 2.51 percent, Techtronic Industries surged 3.15 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skidded 1.18 percent, WuXi Biologics stumbled 1.98 percent and Li Auto was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened in the red but quickly moved higher and continued to pick up speed through the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 408.44 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 47,882.90, while the NASDAQ added 40.42 points or 0.17 percent to close at 23,454.09 and the S&P 500 gained 20.35 points or 0.30 percent to end at 6,849.72.

The strength in the broader markets followed the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing an unexpected decrease by private sector employment in November.

The data added to recently renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will once again lower interest rates at its monetary policy meeting next week.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.0 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by another quarter point next week.

Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday as proposed Russia-Ukraine peace talks failed to deliver a breakthrough. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.23 or 0.39 percent at $58.87 per barrel.