The Hong Kong stock market turned right back to the downside again on Wednesday, one session after it had ended the four-day slide in which it had given away more than 980 points or 5 percent. Now at an 18-week closing low, the Hang Seng Index finished just above the 18,785-point plateau, although now analysts are forecasting renewed if mild support at the opening of trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests a mild rebound following the heavy losses in the previous session, thanks to reports from the European summit regarding the steps that the leaders are willing to take to boost economic growth. Some positive U.S. economic data adds to the sentiment, showing a bigger than expected increase in new home sales and also an increase in selling prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed, and the Asian markets are tipped to open higher.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower again on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, oil companies and technology stocks.
For the day, the index plunged 252.96 points or 1.33 percent to finish at 18,786.19 after trading between 18,661.48 and 18,845.84.
Among the decliners, HSBC Holdings shed 1.2 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 1.5 percent, PetroChina fell 0.8 percent, Tencent Holdings eased 0.3 percent and Lenovo Group dropped 1.5 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks staged a significant recovery on Wednesday afternoon after moving sharply lower in the morning. Continued worries about the financial situation in Europe contributed to the early weakness, which came as European leaders held a closely watched summit in Brussels.
Traders were particularly worried about the potential impact of Greece leaving the eurozone after the debt-plagued nation's recent failure to form a government. However, the rebound by the markets was attributed to reports from the summit regarding the steps that the leaders are willing to take to boost economic growth.
Among the items under discussion, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and French President Francois Hollande have agreed to consider all possible measures to boost European growth, including euro zone bonds. In addition, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is advocating a eurozone-wide bank deposit guarantee.
Adding to the positive sentiment, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales rose 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 343,000 in April from the revised 332,000 in March. Economists had expected 335,000 from the 328,000 originally reported for March. In addition, the median sales price of new houses sold in April was $235,700, up 0.7 percent from $234,000 in March and up 4.9 percent from $224,700 a year ago.
Despite the recovery by the broader markets, Dell (DELL) continued to post a steep loss, with the PC giant tumbling 17.2 percent after reporting weaker than expected first quarter results and providing disappointing second quarter revenue guidance.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed, with the Dow stuck just below the unchanged line. The Dow edged down 6.66 points or 0.1 percent to finish at 12,496.15, while the NASDAQ rose 11.04 points or 0.4 percent to end at 2,850.12 and the S&P 500 crept up 2.23 points or 0.2 percent to 1,318.86.
In economic news, Hong Kong will on Thursday release April trade figures, with analysts expecting a deficit of 40.8 billion Hong Kong dollars. That follows the 43.87 billion HKD shortfall in March.
Also, China will on Thursday release the results of the HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI for May; it saw a score of 49.3 in April.
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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.