The losing streak has reached five sessions now for the Hong Kong stock market, which has plummeted more than 2,550 points or 8 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just shy of the 30,325-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with investors likely to remain skittish following heavy losses earlier this week. A steep drop in crude oil adds to the weak sentiment. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, properties and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index dropped 272.22 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 30,323.20 after trading between 30,292.15 and 31,472.47.
Among the actives, China Resources Land plummeted 7.33 percent, while Hengan International Group surged 1.76 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China plunged 1.74 percent, Sino Land and Sun Hung Kai Properties both tumbled 1.59 percent, Ping An Insurance skidded 1.48 percent, China Life dropped 1.42 percent, Tencent Holdings spiked 1.17 percent, Hong Kong China & Gas, BOC Hong Kong and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) all shed 0.93 percent, China Mobile lost 0.90 percent, WH Group fell 0.88 percent, New World Development slid 0.69 percent, Sands China dipped 0.59 percent, CNOOC eased 0.17 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.15 percent and Lenovo Group and Bank of East Asia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks spent much of the day in positive territory before fizzling at the end to finish in the red.
The Dow shed 19.42 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 24,893.35, while the NASDAQ lost 63.90 points or 0.90 percent and the S&P 500 fell 13.49 points or 0.50 percent to 2,681.65.
Monday's sell-off was the worst single-day point decline in the Dow's history. Wednesday's lack of direction suggests that stocks remain overbought after a recent rally powered by tax breaks. The specter of a government shutdown also rattled investors.
Traders digested mixed remarks from Federal Reserve officials on a day bereft of economic news.
An increase in consumer prices could warrant as many as four rate hikes by year's end, said Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans. But Fed New York President William Dudley said the recent downturn in the stock market does not change the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil futures fell sharply Wednesday, extending a recent slump after data showed U.S. oil inventories dropped for a second week in a row. March WTI oil settled at $61.79/bbl, down $1.60 or 2.5 percent - the lowest in a month.
by RTT Staff Writer
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