The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 680 points or 2.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 28,670-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat amid a lack of catalysts, although crude oil offers mild support. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the oil, property and technology stocks.
For the day, the index dropped 263.94 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 28,674.80 after trading between 28,598.86 and 29,101.40.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies slid 0.25 percent, while AIA Group tumbled 1.63 percent, Alibaba Group skidded 1.60 percent, Alibaba Health Info plummeted 3.46 percent, ANTA Sports rose 0.23 percent, China Life Insurance and Hang Lung Properties both sank 0.74 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tanked 2.22 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surrendered 1.20 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.27 percent, CITIC advanced 0.68 percent, CNOOC gained 0.37 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged 1.92 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 1.47 percent, Henderson Land declined 1.29 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.50 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China retreated 1.44 percent, Longfor was up 0.10 percent, Meituan plunged 2.39 percent, New World Development rallied 0.87 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 0.51 percent, Techtronic Industries lost 0.45 percent, Xiaomi Corporation dropped 0.57 percent, WuXi Biologics spiked 1.43 percent and Sands China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow rose 16.02 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 33,446.26, while the NASDAQ eased 9.54 points or 0.07 percent to end at 13,688.84 and the S&P 500 was up 6.01 points or 0.15 percent to close at 4,079.95.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders sought more clarity about the near-term outlook for the markets - which have risen to record highs in recent sessions, but traders may be worried the markets are becoming overbought.
Traders also kept an eye on the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, although the central bank only reiterated that it is unlikely to change its ultra-loose monetary policy anytime soon.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in February.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, supported by data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $0.44 or 0.7 percent at $59.77 a barrel.
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