(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has fallen lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 570 points or 2.2 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,615-point plateau although it may finally find traction on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to a jump in crude oil prices and slightly easing fears of a recession in the United States. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the properties, casinos and insurance companies.
For the day, the index dropped 48.59 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 25,615.48 after trading between 25,596.08 and 25,830.64.
Among the actives, CSPC Pharmaceutical plummeted 4.91 percent, while Techtronic Industries plunged 2.29 percent, Tencent Holdings tumbled 2.21 percent, Galaxy Entertainment surged 2.05 percent, Hengan International soared 2.03 percent, WH Group skidded 1.56 percent, BOC Hong Kong spiked 1.51 percent, New World Development jumped 1.42 percent, China Mengniu Dairy and Sino Land both climbed 1.06 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.91 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dropped 0.91 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.66 percent, Ping An Insurance sank 0.55 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.41 percent, Sands China fell 0.14 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and AIA Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks shook off early weakness Wednesday to bounce higher and finish firmly in the green.
The Dow added 258.20 points or 1.00 percent to 26,036, while the NASDAQ gained 29.94 points or 0.38 percent to 7,856.88 and the S&P 500 rose 18.78 points or 0.65 percent to 2,887.94.
The energy sectors led the rebound as crude oil futures ended higher Wednesday, buoyed by data showing a significant drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended up $0.85 or 1.6 percent at $55.78 a barrel.
The rebound on Wall Street also came as bond yields climbed off their worst levels of the session, although they remained negative.
Earlier in the day, the negative spread between the ten-year and two-year yields widened to its lowest level since 2007, with an inverted yield curve seen as an indicator that a U.S. recession is looming.
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