(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, slumping more than 1,610 points or 7.6 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,425-point plateau and it's got another negative lead for Monday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks and financial shares, while the properties and energy companies were mixed.
For the day, the index dipped 9.46 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 19,426.34 after trading between 19,332.34 and 19,608.24.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group dropped 0.85 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plummeted 5.94 percent, ANTA Sports retreated 1.17 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 2.54 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 1.20 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 1.66 percent, CITIC gained 0.34 percent, CNOOC added 0.48 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical declined 1.16 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 0.15 percent, Haier Smart Home climbed 0.90 percent, Hang Lung Properties lost 0.47 percent, Henderson Land increased 0.20 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.50 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.22 percent, JD.com tanked 1.85 percent, Lenovo tumbled 1.82 percent, Li Auto soared 2.04 percent, Li Ning skidded 0.87 percent, Meituan rose 0.18 percent, New World Development improved 0.28 percent, Nongfu Spring jumped 1.98 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.76 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 0.54 percent, WuXi Biologics slumped 1.05 percent and Hengan International was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and only weakened further as the day progressed.
The Dow plunged 305.87 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 43,444.99, while the NASDAQ plummeted 427.53 points or 2.24 percent to close at 18,680.12 and the S&P 500 dropped 78.55 points or 1.32 percent to end at 5,870.62. For the week, the NASDAQ shed 3.2 percent, the S&P sank 2.1 percent and the Dow fell 1.2 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Federal Reserve Chair Powell's recent remarks suggesting the central bank doesn't need to hurry to lower rates. Citing the strength of the U.S. economy, Powell said the Fed can take a careful approach to future monetary policy decisions.
Potentially adding to concerns economic strength will lead the Fed to hold off on future rate cuts, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in October.
Oil futures plummeted Friday on concerns about the outlook for demand, recent data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $1.68 or 2.45 percent at $67.02 a barrel; they shed 5 percent in the week.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide October figures for unemployment later today; in September, the jobless rate was 3.0 percent.
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