Losing Streak May Continue For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, slumping almost 1,550 points or 6.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 24,400-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on further escalating tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index sank 157.94 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 24,407.96 after trading between 24,207.03 and 24,505.96.

Among the actives, AIA slumped 1.06 percent, while Alibaba Group retreated 2.22 percent, Baidu perked 0.09 percent, Bank of China collected 0.56 percent, BOC Hong Kong tumbled 3.38 percent, China Construction Bank improved 0.69 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.99 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 1.08 percent, China Mobile rose 0.18 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical gained 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy declined 1.95 percent, CITIC plummeted 4.95 percent, CNOOC plunged 4.27 percent, Hong Kong Exchange fell 0.26 percent, HSBC crashed 4.79 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.01 percent, JD.com contracted 1.58 percent, Lenovo Group cratered 9.38 percent, Meituan vaulted 2.33 percent, NetEase surged 3.79 percent, Nongfu Spring advanced 0.85 percent, PetroChina sank 0.49 percent, Ping An Insurance added 0.53 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing tanked 3.53 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties skidded 0.85 percent, Tencent Holdings rallied 2.74 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 3.24 percent, WuXi AppTec soared 3.08 percent and Zijin Mining surrendered 3.00 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and continued trend deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 953.33 points or 1.87 percent to finish at 49,918.78, while the NASDAQ tanked 509.32 points or 1.98 percent to end at 25,169.50 and the S&P 500 slumped 119.66 points or 1.62 percent.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as President Donald Trump ramped up his threats against Iran following a recent exchange of attacks.

Trump's latest threats came after U.S. Central Command said forces completed "self-defense strikes" against Iran on Tuesday at the president's direction in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in May. Core consumer price growth also matches expectations.

Crude oil prices surged Wednesday on concerns about the gulf conflict intensifying further after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks, keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $2.26 or 2.56 percent at $90.46 per barrel.