The Hong Kong stock market experienced declines over the last couple of trading days, losing over 250 points, equating to a 1.2 percent decrease. The Hang Seng Index now sits slightly above the 20,150-point level, although there is potential for a rebound on Thursday.
The global outlook for Asian markets is positive, driven by increased optimism regarding interest rate trends. European markets closed positively, while U.S. markets were mostly higher, suggesting that Asian markets are likely to follow this upward trend.
On Wednesday, the Hang Seng Index saw a slight decrease, affected by downturns in the financial, real estate, and technology sectors. The index fell by 156.23 points or 0.77 percent, closing the day at 20,155.05, after fluctuating between 20,100.07 and 20,481.37.
In terms of active stocks, Alibaba Group decreased by 0.46 percent, with Alibaba Health Info and CLP Holdings each dropping 1.07 percent. ANTA Sports saw a decline of 0.66 percent, China Life Insurance fell by 1.91 percent, while China Mengniu Dairy rose by 1.16 percent. China Resources Land, CITIC, and others also experienced various movements. Notably, Hong Kong & China Gas increased by 0.67 percent, while Techtronic Industries fell significantly by 3.62 percent.
Turning to Wall Street, the major averages showed mixed to positive results on Wednesday, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average could not retain all its early gains. The Dow fell by 99.27 points or 0.22 percent to conclude at 44,148.56. Contrastingly, the NASDAQ jumped 347.65 points or 1.77 percent, setting a record at 20,034.89, and the S&P 500 increased by 49.28 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 6,084.19.
These market movements were buoyed by the release of inflation data that aligned with market expectations. This consistency has bolstered confidence that the Federal Reserve may lower interest rates by a further quarter-point at its upcoming meeting.
Currently, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates a 98.6 percent probability that the Federal Reserve will reduce rates by 25 basis points at its December meeting.
Oil futures ended higher as concerns over potential European Union sanctions on Russia, alongside projections of increased demand from China and higher gasoline stockpiles, pushed prices upward. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January rose by $1.70, or 2.5 percent, closing at $70.29 per barrel.
Locally, Hong Kong is set to release its Q3 data for industrial production and producer prices today. The previous three months saw an annual increase of 0.7 percent in industrial output, with producer prices rising by 3.1 percent year-on-year.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
