The Hong Kong stock market has closed lower now in three straight sessions, giving away more than 950 points or 4.7 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index finished just above the 18,950-point plateau, and how analysts are predicting further selling pressure at the opening of trade on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft thanks to ongoing debt concerns in Europe. Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks Friday, citing rising loan defaults, a renewed recession in Spain, restricted funding access and the reduced ability of the Spanish government to support lenders. In addition, the Bank of Spain said the country's bad loans increased further in March to the highest bad debt ratio since 1994. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in the red, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower again on Friday following losses from the financial shares and retailers, among others.
For the day, the index plummeted 249.08 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 18,951.85 after trading between 18,622.31 and 18,985.43 on volume of 65.76 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Among the decliners, Esprit Holdings shed 4.1 percent, while HSBC dropped 3.1 percent, Hutchison Whampoa lost 2.4 percent, GCL-Poly plummeted 7.8 percent, Comedic Solar fell 2.1 percent and Troy Solar retreated 1.8 percent.
The lead from Wall Street continues to provide little encouragement as stocks showed another notable move to the downside on Friday after posting a lack of direction in morning trade. The pullback came despite a lack of major catalysts, with the drop reflecting the recent downward momentum for the markets as traders were reluctant to hold positions going into the weekend.
Lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe continued to weigh on the markets, with the ongoing political uncertainty in Greece adding to worries about the outlook for the eurozone.
In addition, the Bank of Spain said the country's bad loans increased further in March. About 8.37 percent of loans held by banks in March were unpaid for more than three months. That compares to 8.3 percent in February. This was the highest bad debt ratio since 1994.
Social networking giant Facebook attracted a lot of attention after making its debut on the NASDAQ in late morning trading. Technical issues delayed the opening by about 30 minutes. After opening notably higher, shares of Facebook fluctuated over the course of the session, eventually ending the day up by just 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of Gap (GPS) fell by 2.3 percent even though the apparel retailer reported better than expected first quarter results. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance. Chip maker Marvell Technology (MRVL) also ended the day in the red despite reporting better than expected first quarter results.
The major averages also ended Friday firmly in negative territory, at their worst closing levels in four months. The Dow fell 73.11 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 12,369.38, while the NASDAQ plunged 34.90 points or 1.2 percent to end at 2,778.79 and the S&P 500 slid 9.64 points or 0.7 percent to 1,295.22. With the losses, the averages all fell sharply for the week as the Dow dropped by 3.5 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 tumbled by 5.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
In economic news, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday that house prices in China continued its downward trend in April, with 46 out of 70 cities surveyed by the government declining from a year ago. In March, prices fell in 38 cities.
New house prices in Beijing fell 1 percent and Shanghai prices declined 1.3 percent from the previous year. On a monthly comparison, home prices dropped in 43 of 70 major cities in April, compared to 46 cities reporting decreases in March.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.