The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 380 points or 1.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 23,050-point plateau, and the market is looking at another soft start again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft, although support from crude oil prices is likely to cap the downside. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the properties, airlines and oil companies were tempered by support from the financials and insurance companies.
For the day, the index lost 48.30 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 23,049.96 after trading between 22,941.96 and 23,104.35.
Among the actives, Cathay Pacific Airways plummeted 3.88 percent, while Sino Land tumbled 2.16 percent, New World Development skidded 1.55 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 1.46 percent, Li & Fung retreated 1.43 percent, Lenovo Group lost 0.97 percent, Ping An perked 0.74 percent, China Life added 0.46 percent, CNOOC slid 0.40 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.21 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks fell on Thursday due to uncertainty about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies ahead of his inauguration later today.
The Dow fell 72.32 points or 0.4 percent to 19,732.40, while the NASDAQ dipped 15.57 points or 0.3 percent to 5,540.08 and the S&P 500 slid 8.20 points or 0.4 percent to 2,263.69.
In economic news, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for unemployment benefits declined in the week ended January 14. Also, the Commerce Department reported a solid rebound in housing starts in December.
Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in January.
Overseas, the European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged and maintained its asset purchases, confirming they will continue at a reduced pace till the end of this year.
Crude oil futures edged higher Thursday as February WTI oil settled at $51.37/bbl on Nymex, up 29 cents, or 0.6 percent.
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