Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open Under Pressure On Thursday

The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 1,100 points or 4.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 26,460-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, as traders are expected to lock in gains with several markets at or near record highs. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the property sector was mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 251.50 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 26,458.95 after trading between 26,313.51 and 26,616.94.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group plummeted 3.25 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 0.36 percent, ANTA Sports declined 1.39 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.32 percent, China Mengniu Dairy climbed 0.91 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.48 percent, CITIC sank 0.16 percent, CNOOC plunged 3.00 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 2.93 percent, Galaxy Entertainment eased 0.10 percent, Haier Smart Home jumped 1.10 percent, Hang Lung Properties slipped 0.11 percent, Henderson Land added 0.56 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.13 percent, JD.com slumped 1.30 percent, Lenovo contracted 1.17 percent, Li Auto stumbled 1.69 percent, Li Ning perked 0.20 percent, Meituan retreated 1.51 percent, New World Development gained 0.55 percent, Nongfu Spring dropped 0.58 percent, Techtronic Industries rallied 1.91 percent, Xiaomi Corporation surrendered 1.55 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 5.92 percent and Hong Kong & China Gas was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line for much of the day before a late slump saw them end mixed.

The Dow dropped 466.00 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 48,996.08, while the NASDAQ rose 37.10 points or 0.16 percent to close at 23,584.28 and the S&P 500 sank 23.89 points or 0.34 percent to end at 6,920.93.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs on Tuesday.

Traders were also digesting the latest U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased less than expected in December.

Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in November, while the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected increase by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in December.

Crude oil prices plunged again on Wednesday due to emerging supply side concerns following U.S. attempts to gain control of Venezuelan oil wealth. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.11 or 1.94 percent at $56.02 per barrel.

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