The Hong Kong stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 300 points or 1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 30,760-point plateau although it figures to turn lower again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on renewed geopolitical concerns and a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, casinos and insurance companies, while the properties and oil stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index advanced 94.77 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 30,760.41.
Among the actives, WH Group plummeted 3.22 percent, while China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surged 2.47 percent, Lenovo Group soared 2.09 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.49 percent, China Mobile spiked 1.44 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas and Henderson Land both climbed 0.59 percent, Sands China advanced 0.53 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.30 percent, Sino Land shed 0.30 percent, CNOOC lost 0.29 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.29 percent, China Life gained 0.23 percent, Ping An Insurance picked up 0.19 percent and New World Development perked 0.17 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks came under early pressure on Thursday; they rebounded slightly in the afternoon but still closed in the red.
The Dow fell 75.05 points or 0.30 percent to 24,811.76, while the NASDAQ eased 1.53 points or 0.02 percent to 7,424.43 and the S&P 500 fell 5.53 points or 0.20 percent to 2,727.76.
The early pullback followed news that President Donald Trump has called off the historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump attributed the decision to call off the meeting to North Korea displaying "tremendous anger and open hostility."
In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended May 19. Also, the National Association of Realtors showed a bigger than expected decline in existing home sales in April.
Energy stocks continued to show weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil. Crude for July delivery plunged $1.13 to $70.71 a barrel on concerns OPEC may boost output.
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