The Hong Kong stock market has ended lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 1,650 points or 5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 30,965-point plateau, although it may find traction again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, thanks to a rebound by U.S. treasuries and a bump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were little changed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, oil companies, casinos and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index plummeted 466.21 points or 1.48 percent to finish at 30,965.68 after trading between 30,930.10 and 31,195.27.
Among the actives, China Mengniu Dairy surged 5.58 percent, while China Resources Land plummeted 4.11 percent, Sands China plunged 3.09 percent, Tencent Holdings tumbled 2.53 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 2.25 percent, CNOOC dropped 2.23 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 2.18 percent, AIA Group shed 2.10 percent, Galaxy Entertainment lost 1.69 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 1.67 percent, Lenovo Group slid 1.00 percent, China Mobile was down 0.80 percent, CITIC dipped 0.53 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 0.40 percent, WH Group added 0.32 percent, China Life gave away 0.21 percent and BOC Hong Kong collected 0.13 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks were firm for most of Thursday's trade before turning mixed in the afternoon.
The Dow jumped 164.70 points or 0.66 percent to 24,962.48, while the NASDAQ fell 8.14 points or 0.11 percent to 7,210.09 and S&P 500 added 2.63 points or 0.10 percent at 2,703.96.
The strength in morning trading followed a bounce by treasuries, which came under pressure after the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a fall in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 17. A separate report from the Conference Board showed a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading economic indicators in January.
Crude oil futures rallied Thursday after the government reported a drop in U.S. oil stockpiles in contrast to Wednesday's industry data. WTI light sweet oil was up 93 cents at $62.61 a barrel, supported by upbeat U.S. economic data and dovish talk from the European Central Bank.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.