(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 230 points or 1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 25,000-point plateau although it figures to run out of steam on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on inflation concerns and a drop in crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the oil, property and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the casinos and financials.
For the day, the index jumped 183.01 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 24,996.14 after trading between 24,481.26 and 25,013.11.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies sank 0.63 percent, while AIA Group plunged 3.56 percent, Alibaba Group jumped 2.61 percent, Alibaba Health Info rallied 3.47 percent, ANTA Sports eased 0.16 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.59 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plummeted 5.22 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 0.53 percent, China Resources Land skyrocketed 8.79 percent, CITIC rose 0.70 percent, CNOOC was up 0.24 percent, Country Garden spiked 4.51 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 4.62 percent, Galaxy Entertainment fell 0.34 percent, Hang Lung Properties added 1.14 percent, Henderson Land improved 0.45 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.24 percent, Li Ning strengthened 1.67 percent, Longfor surged 6.87 percent, Meituan climbed 2.59 percent, New World Development gathered 1.63 percent, Sands China tumbled 0.99 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties gained 0.96 percent, Techtronic Industries accelerated 4.22 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 1.23 percent, WuXi Biologics perked 1.36 percent and Hong Kong & China Gas was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower on Wednesday but saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed to finish solidly under water.
The Dow tumbled 240.04 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 36,079.94, while the NASDAQ plunged 263.84 points or 1.66 percent to close at 15,622.71 and the S&P 500 sank 38.54 points or 0.82 percent to end at 4,646.71.
Concerns about inflation contributed to the weakness on Wall Street after the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices increased by more than expected in October, lifting the annual rate of price growth to its highest level in over thirty years.
The acceleration in the rate of consumer price inflation raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates even though the Federal Reserve has signaled it will not be in a hurry to begin raising rates.
Also, a separate report from the Labor Department showed another modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak after data showed an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $2.81 or 3.3 percent at $81.34 a barrel.
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