Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 950 points or 3.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 24,850-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the conflict in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index dropped 479.52 points or 1.89 percent to finish at 24,856.43 after trading between 24,793.10 and 25,278.03.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group plunged 4.58 percent, while Alibaba Health Info crashed 4.08 percent, ANTA Sports slid 0.33 percent, China Life Insurance cratered 8.48 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 2.64 percent, China Resources Land contracted 2.92 percent, CITIC slipped 0.67 percent, CNOOC rallied 2.53 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 3.89 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slumped 2.35 percent, Haier Smart Home retreated 3.55 percent, Hang Lung Properties lost 1.24 percent, Henderson Land fell 0.99 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 1.39 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China eased 0.15 percent, JD.com climbed 1.07 percent, Lenovo was down 0.21 percent, Li Auto sank 2.06 percent, Li Ning skidded 2.28 percent, Meituan stumbled 3.67 percent, New World Development dropped 2.24 percent, Nongfu Spring tanked 4.01 percent, Techtronic Industries declined 3.17 percent, Xiaomi Corporation dipped 0.25 percent and WuXi Biologics plummeted 4.83 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and continued to trend sharply lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 469.38 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 45,960.11, while the NASDAQ plummeted 521.75 points or 2.38 percent to close at 21,408.08 and the S&P 500 slumped 114.74 points or 1.74 percent to end at 6,477.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street extended the see-saw trend seen over the past few sessions, as traders reacted to continued volatility by the price of crude oil.

Crude prices skyrocketed Thursday as the U.S.-Iran standoff over the 15-point peace proposal deepens the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $4.51 or 4.99 percent at $94.83 per barrel.

Concerns about further widening of the conflict also weighed on the markets after several Gulf countries issued a joint statement condemning Iran's "criminal" attacks on their energy infrastructure.