Lower Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking almost 25 points or 1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,715-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative on surging oil prices and raging war in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the property and technology companies were mitigated by support from the energy stocks.

For the day, the index declined 182.00 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 25,716.76 after trading between 25,521.15 and 25,932.58.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group tumbled 1.20 percent, while Alibaba Health Info contracted 1.16 percent, ANTA Sports perked 0.13 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 1.04 percent, China Mengniu Dairy added 0.56 percent, China Resources Land skidded 1.11 percent, CITIC slumped 1.14 percent, CNOOC surged 3.71 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plummeted 4.53 percent, ENN Energy jumped 1.42 percent, Galaxy Entertainment declined 1.18 percent, Haier Smart Home slipped 0.24 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.43 percent, Henderson Land tanked 3.17 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.66 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied 1.45 percent, JD.com advanced 0.83 percent, Lenovo sank 0.93 percent, Li Auto gained 0.43 percent, Li Ning stumbled 2.70 percent, Meituan shed 0.90 percent, Nongfu Spring plunged 4.36 percent, Techtronic Industries retreated 2.12 percent, Xiaomi Corporation eased 0.12 percent, WuXi Biologics surrendered 2.71 percent and New World Development was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened firmly in the red and remained under water throughout the session, ending at daily lows.

The Dow tumbled 739.42 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 46,677.85, while the NASDAQ plunged 404.15 points or 1.78 percent to end at 22,311.98 and the S&P 500 slumped 103.18 points or 1.52 percent to close at 6,672.62.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid another sharp increase by the price of crude oil, as oil prices further offset the nosedive seen on Tuesday.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday after the new leadership in Iran refused to bow down to U.S. pressure in the raging Middle East war and instead vowed revenge. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $7.45 or 8.54 percent at $94.70 per barrel.

The extended rebound by the price of crude oil came amid reports three more foreign ships were struck in the Persian Gulf overnight, adding to concerns about transit through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower last week.