The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 550 points or 2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 28,430-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns for trade and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are likely to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the properties and casinos, while the financials and oil companies were mixed.
For the day, the index lost 65.54 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 28,432.05 after trading between 28,275.180 and 28,476.650.
Among the actives, WH Group plummeted 3.57 percent, while AAC Technologies plunged 2.85 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 2.43 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 2.22 percent, Tencent Holdings dropped 1.73 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surged 1.40 percent, Sands China retreated 1.06 percent, China Resources Land declined 1.00 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas contracted 0.89 percent, CITIC spiked 0.85 percent, New World Development shed 0.63 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 0.60 percent, CNOOC climbed 0.60 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical advanced 0.57 percent, BOC Hong Kong added 0.48 percent, AIA Group collected 0.40 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.33 percent, China Mobile gained 0.30 percent, Ping An Insurance eased 0.06 percent and Power Assets and Henderson Land were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as stocks showed a lack of direction Thursday and eventually finished mixed.
The Dow shed 103.88 points or 0.41 percent, while the NASDAQ rose 6.58 points or 0.09 percent to 7,426.95 and the S&P fell 7.30 points or 0.27 percent to 2,745.73.
Initial weakness on Wall Street came after a report from the Commerce Department unexpectedly showed a big drop in retail sales in December, increasing the appeal of safe havens like bonds. Also, the Labor Department said producer prices unexpectedly fell in January.
Selling pressure has waned over the course of the morning, as traders continued to express optimism about U.S.-China trade talks and avoiding another government shutdown.
Crude oil prices moved higher Thursday on optimism for a resolution in trade talks between China and the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up $0.51 or 1 percent at $54.41 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.