The Hong Kong stock market broke a four-day losing streak on Thursday, recovering more than 550 points, equivalent to a 3.2 percent drop. The Hang Seng Index now hovers just above the 17,830-point mark. However, it is expected to decline once more on Friday.
The global outlook for Asian markets indicates a trend towards profit-taking, especially in the technology sector. While European markets saw gains, U.S. markets experienced declines, suggesting that Asian markets may follow the trend set by U.S. bourses.
On Thursday, the Hang Seng Index closed significantly higher with broad-based gains, particularly in property and technology stocks.
For the day, the index surged by 360.66 points or 2.06 percent, ending at 17,832.33, after fluctuating between 17,621.05 and 17,864.09 during trading hours.
Key performers included Alibaba Group, which jumped 3.21 percent; Alibaba Health Info, up 1.92 percent; ANTA Sports, which soared 4.06 percent; and China Life Insurance, rising 2.41 percent. Notable gains were also seen in China Mengniu Dairy, up 4.21 percent; China Resources Land and CITIC, both 2.70 percent higher; and CNOOC, which climbed 2.03 percent. Country Garden rocketed 6.67 percent, while CSPC Pharmaceutical gained 1.66 percent, and Galaxy Entertainment strengthened by 2.22 percent.
Additional standout performances included: Hang Lung Properties, up 1.52 percent; Henderson Land, which rallied 3.08 percent; Hong Kong & China Gas, advancing 1.95 percent; and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, up 0.93 percent. JD.com accelerated by 2.79 percent, Lenovo added 1.77 percent, Li Ning increased by 1.89 percent, Meituan gained 1.04 percent, New World Development surged 5.51 percent, Techtronic Industries rose by 0.85 percent, Xiaomi Corporation spiked 3.47 percent, and WuXi Biologics soared 4.32 percent.
Wall Street provided a largely negative lead, as major averages opened lower on Thursday. The Dow edged nominally higher, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ retreated from their record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 32.39 points or 0.08 percent, closing at 39,753.75. In contrast, the NASDAQ plummeted 364.04 points or 1.95 percent, ending at 18,283.41, and the S&P 500 dropped 49.37 points or 0.88 percent, finishing at 5,584.54.
Initially, optimism regarding interest rates bolstered Wall Street, but this enthusiasm quickly faded as traders appeared to have already factored in a potential rate cut in September.
The subsequent sell-off was driven by profit-taking, particularly in some of the year's biggest tech winners such as Nvidia (NVDA), known for its advances in AI.
Despite this, the Federal Reserve is still expected to lower rates in September, following a Labor Department report that revealed an unexpected slight decrease in U.S. prices in June.
In commodities, oil futures settled higher on Thursday, buoyed by hopes of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve following positive inflation data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August, however, ended down $0.52 at $82.62 a barrel.
