Higher Open Called For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 320 points or 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,160-point plateau although it may recover some of those losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourse were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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 324.24 points or 1.22 percent to finish at 26,163.24 after trading between 26,073.45 and 26,303.60.

Among the actives, AIA added 0.48 percent, while Alibaba Group cratered 3.52 percent, Baidu plunged 2.81 percent, Bank of China tanked 2.67 percent, BOC Hong Kong slipped 0.23 percent, China Construction Bank retreated 2.12 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 0.87 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 0.88 percent, China Mobile shed 0.36 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical stumbled 2.17 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.13 percent, CITIC jumped 1.33 percent, CNOOC vaulted 1.05 percent, Hong Kong Exchange was down 0.14 percent, HSBC collected 0.21 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China contracted 1.79 percent, JD.com tumbled 2.28 percent, Meituan surrendered 2.54 percent, NetEase crashed 2.90 percent, Nongfu Spring sank 0.86 percent, PetroChina rallied 2.01 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 0.24 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing slumped 1.33 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties lost 0.29 percent, Tencent Holdings plummeted 2.89 percent, Xiaomi Corporation declined 1.85 percent, WuXi AppTec advanced 0.74 percent and Zijin Mining weakened 0.94 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained comfortably in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 340.65 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 49,490.03, while the NASDAQ rallied 397.60 points or 1.64 percent to end at a record 23,001.78 and the S&P 500 climbed 73.89 points or 1.05 percent to close at 7,137.90, also a record.

The rebound on Wall Street came in reaction to news that President Donald Trump has extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, although it will continue to blockade all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.

Iran dismissed Trump's ceasefire extension as meaningless and said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted.

Crude oil prices soared Wednesday thanks to supply disruption concerns due to the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.54 or 3.95 percent at $93.21 per barrel.

Traders also continue to express optimism about the strength of corporate results, with earnings season off to a solid start.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release March numbers for consumer prices and unemployment later today; in February, overall inflation was up 0.5 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year, while the jobless rate was 3.8 percent.