Higher Open Expected For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 770 points or 2.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 26,390-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also expected to track to the upside.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the technology stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 40.53 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 26,388.44 after trading between 26,220.12 and 26,458.90.

Among the actives, AIA added 0.58 percent, while Alibaba Group and Bank of China both shed 0.38 percent, Baidu tumbled 1.57 percent, BOC Hong Kong climbed 1.02 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.34 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 2.03 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.63 percent, China Mobile perked 0.06 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical improved 0.65 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.34 percent, CITIC tanked 1.76 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.11 percent, HSBC spiked 1.80 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.71 percent, JD.com surged 8.28 percent, Meituan soared 4.10 percent, NetEase was up 0.11 percent, Nongfu Spring rose 0.17 percent, Ping An Insurance stumbled 1.38 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing plummeted 3.20 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties eased 0.14 percent, Tencent Holdings jumped 1.18 percent, Xiaomi Corporation vaulted 1.08 percent, WuXi AppTec gained 0.37 percent, Zijin Mining advanced 0.99 percent and PetroChina and Hong Kong Exchange were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened mixed but trended higher throughout the session, finally finishing mixed.

The Dow shed 67.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 49,693.20, while the NASDAQ rallied 314.14 points of 1.20 percent to end at a record 26,402.34 and the S&P 500 gained 43.29 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,444.25, also a record.

The mixed performance on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in April, marking the largest jump since March 2022.

Following the data, interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks showed significant moves to the downside on the day.

The rally by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Crude oil prices pulled back on Wednesday as the upcoming negotiations between the presidents of the U.S. and China have increased expectations of an end to the U.S.-Iran standoff despite OPEC and IEA oil forecast reports warning of a supply-demand mismatch. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.04 or 1.02 percent at $101.14 per barrel.