The Hong Kong stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 400 points or 1.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 29,230-point plateau and it's in line for continued consolidation on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mildly negative on concerns over U.S. tax reform, although crude oil prices should provide support. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the insurance companies were offset by support from the casinos and mixed performances from the properties and oil companies.
For the day, the index slipped 19.57 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 29,234.09 after trading between 29,159.28 and 29,326.52.
Among the actives, Tingyi Holdings surged 3.57 percent, while Sands China soared 1.62 percent, Henderson Land spiked 1.20 percent, Cathay Pacific Airways tumbled 1.15 percent, Galaxy Entertainment jumped 1.05 percent, China Life skidded 1.02 percent, AIA Group dropped 0.87 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.80 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.54 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.53 percent, BOC Hong Kong collected 0.52 percent, Ping An lost 0.37 percent, Li & Fung fell 0.24 percent, New World Development and CNOOC both dipped 0.18, Kunlun Energy advanced 0.12 percent and Belle International and Lenovo Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is flat to slightly lower as stocks showed a lack of direction on Wednesday, lingering near the unchanged line before finishing in the red.
The Dow dipped 28.10 points or 0.11 percent to 24,726.65, while the NASDAQ fell 2.89 points or 0.04 percent to 6,960.96 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.22 points or 0.08 percent to 2,679.25.
The choppy trading came as Republican lawmakers managed to send a sweeping tax reform bill to President Donald Trump. The bill reduces the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, gives tax breaks to pass-through businesses and encourages domestic business investment.
In economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a bigger than expected jump in existing home sales in November, hitting an almost 11-year high.
Crude oil futures rose Wednesday after government data showed U.S. oil inventories continued to dwindle last week. Extending recent gains, WTI light sweet crude oil added 53 cents or 0.9 percent to $58.09 a barrel.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will release November figures for consumer prices, plus Q3 data for current account later today. In October, inflation was up 1.5 percent on year, while the current account surplus in Q2 was 16.41 billion HKD.
by RTT Staff Writer
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