Bargain Hunting May Boost Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, falling almost 370 points or 1.5 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 25,210-point plateau although it may find traction on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the technology and financial shares were mitigated by support from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index shed 97.90 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 25,213.31 after trading between 25,160.38 and 25,538.15.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and spent the whole day in the green, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 624.16 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 53,686.11, while the NASDAQ rallied 366.23 points or 1.40 percent to close at 26,584.06 and the S&P 500 climbed 81.11 points or 1.06 percent to end at 7,747.71.

The rally on Wall Street reflected easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as CME Group's FedWatch Tool showed a notable decrease in the likelihood of a rate hike later this month.

The drop came after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller remarked that he is leaning towards keeping rates steady at the upcoming meeting; those remarks contributed to a pullback by treasury yields, which also benefited stocks.

Traders were also looking ahead to the closely watched monthly employment report for August due later today, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices ticked higher on Thursday on hopes that the new wave of U.S. strikes on Iran will be limited. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.24 or 0.26 percent at $91.26 per barrel.