The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had soared more than 600 points or 2.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 26,755-point plateau although it's expected to recover on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm on renewed optimism about and end to the trade dispute between the United States and China. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, properties, oil companies and casinos.
For the day, the index tumbled 146.47 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 26,755.63 after trading between 26,703.31 and 27,012.19.
Among the actives, CITIC plummeted 3.28 percent, while Sino Land plunged 2.92 percent, New World Development tumbled 2.07 percent, WH Group skidded 2.06 percent, AIA Group retreated 1.51 percent, AAC Technologies declined 1.40 percent, China Mengniu Dairy contracted 1.18 percent, BOC Hong Kong dropped 1.01 percent, Sands China shed 0.97 percent, China Mobile lost 0.92 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.53 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.48 percent, CDPC Pharmaceutical advanced 0.48 percent, Galaxy Entertainment eased 0.42 percent, CNOOC dipped 0.31 percent, Ping An Insurance collected 0.28 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas was down 0.12 percent and China Life Insurance gave away 0.11 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks shook off early weakness and shot higher late Thursday to finish firmly in positive territory.
The Dow added 162.94 points or 0.67 percent to 24,370, while the NASDAQ added 48.77 points or 0.71 percent to 7,084.46 and the S&P 500 rose 19.86 points or 0.76 percent to 2,635.96.
The late-day rally followed reports that the U.S. is considering lifting tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to calm markets and give Beijing an incentive to make deeper concessions.
The early weakness was a negative reaction to disappointing quarterly results from Morgan Stanley (MS), which missed expectations.
Crude oil prices rebounded after early weakness but still settled lower on Thursday, amid renewed concerns about excess supply and likely fall in near term energy demand. Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.24 or 0.5 percent at $52.07 a barrel.
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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.