Hong Kong Stock Market Expected To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 1,300 points or 6.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,520-point plateau although it figures to open in the red again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on continued concerns over the health of financial institutions. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financials, properties and oil companies, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index surged 314.69 points or 1.64 percent to finish at 19,518.59 after trading between 19,303.29 and 19,597.18.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group gathered 1.24 percent, while Alibaba Health Info climbed 2.55 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.68 percent, China Life Insurance strengthened 2.96 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 3.80 percent, China Resources Land jumped 3.15 percent, CITIC improved 2.71 percent, CNOOC rallied 3.20 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 4.52 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 1.27 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 2.48 percent, Hang Lung Properties increased 2.30 percent, Henderson Land was up 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas perked 0.37 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.47 percent, JD.com fell 0.26 percent, Lenovo surged 4.32 percent, Li Ning plummeted 9.91 percent, Meituan accelerated 3.25 percent, New World Development gained 1.90 percent, Techtronic Industries added 2.20 percent, Xiaomi Corporation soared 4.04 percent, WuXi Biologics tumbled 1.64 percent and Haier Smart Home was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and pretty much stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 384.62 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 31,861.98, while the NASDAQ slumped 86.79 points or 0.74 percent to close at 11,630.51 and the S&P 500 dropped 43.64 points or 1.10 percent to end at 3,916.64. For the week, the NASDAQ soared 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 rose 1.4 percent and the Dow eased 0.2 percent.

The pullback on Wall Street came as traders looked to cash in on Thursday's rally amid lingering concerns about turmoil in the financial sector.

Traders also looked ahead to Wednesday's Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. CME Group's FedWatch tool currently indicates a 43.2 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged and a 56.8 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate hike.

In economic news, the Fed said U.S. industrial production was unexpectedly unchanged in February. Also, the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. fell for the first time in four months in March.

Crude oil prices sank Friday as rising concerns about the health of the banking sector continued to fuel worries about economic growth and the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April dropped $1.61 or 2.4 percent at $66.74 a barrel. WTI crude futures tumbled 13 percent in the week.