Hong Kong Bourse Overdue For Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, tumbling more than 1,030 points or 5.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 18,610-point plateau and now it's tipped to open in the green on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with technology shares expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Friday with damage across the board, especially among the financials, properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 259.77 points or 1.38 percent to finish at 18,608.94 after trading between 18,532.41 and 18,867.91.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group was down 0.64 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tanked 4.23 percent, ANTA Sports eased 0.46 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 2.97 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plunged 4.37 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 3.32 percent, CITIC slumped 2.70 percent, CNOOC rallied 2.29 percent, Country Garden plummeted 8.25 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slid 0.78 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sank 2.26 percent, Hang Lung Properties tanked 4.26 percent, Henderson Land declined 2.87 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 2.04 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.85 percent, JD.com retreated 3.31 percent, Lenovo dropped 2.30 percent, Li Ning plummeted 6.17 percent, Meituan skidded 2.68 percent, New World Development tumbled 3.39 percent, Techtronic Industries fell 0.80 percent, Xiaomi Corporation surrendered 3.38 percent and WuXi Biologics plunged 3.42 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat but inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Friday; the S&P and NASDAQ remained firmly higher all day, while the Dow struggled to stay above water.

The Dow rose 4.33 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 39,069.59, while the NASDAQ jumped 184.76 points or 1.10 percent to close at a record high of 16,920.79 and the S&P 500 gained 36.88 points or 0.70 percent to end at 5,304.72.

For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and the Dow tumbled 2.3 percent.

The rebound on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the downturn seen on Thursday, which saw the Dow post its worst daily drop since March 2023.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase in durable goods orders in April. Also, the University of Michigan said in a report that consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than estimated in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher Friday, snapping a four-day losing streak despite concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.85 at $77.72 a barrel; for the week, WTI crude futures slumped 3 percent.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will release April data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In March, imports were up 5.3 percent on month and exports rose 4.7 percent for a trade deficit of HKD45.0 billion.