Rally May Stall For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gaining more than 110 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,885-point plateau although it’s expected to run out of steam on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on disappointing data and continued weakness from technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Thursday as the financials, properties and technology stocks were mostly in the green.

For the day, the index added 37.92 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 26,885.24 after trading between 26,410.77 and 26,919.39.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group perked 0.06 percent, while Alibaba Health Info dropped 0.64 percent, ANTA Sports climbed 1.39 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 2.73 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 2.69 percent, China Resources Land rose 0.19 percent, CITIC slumped 0.73 percent, CNOOC sank 0.42 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical and Galaxy Entertainment both increased 0.52 percent, Haier Smart Home strengthened 1.48 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.21 percent, Henderson Land advanced 1.12 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.26 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.47 percent, JD.com improved 0.83 percent, Lenovo surged 3.67 percent, Li Auto accelerated 1.91 percent, Li Ning jumped 2.58 percent, Meituan vaulted 1.79 percent, New World Development plummeted 4.58 percent, Nongfu Spring expanded 1.41 percent, Techtronic Industries dipped 0.18 percent, Xiaomi Corporation soared 2.83 percent and WuXi Biologics rallied 2.63 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent the entire session in the red, ending near daily lows.

The Dow tumbled 592.58 points or 1.20 percent to finish at 48,908.72, while the NASDAQ sank 363.99 points or 1.59 percent to end at 22,540.59 and the S&P 500 shed 84.32 points or 1.23 percent to close at 6,798.40.

Weakness among tech stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street amid losses from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Qualcomm (QCOM), which provided disappointing guidance.

Tech stocks have moved sharply lower over the past few sessions amid concerns about valuations and the impact of artificial intelligence.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose much more than expected last week. The Labor Department also said job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in over five years in December.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday after weak U.S. jobs data increased demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.87 or 2.87 percent at $63.27 per barrel.