Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had tumbled almost 500 points or 1.9 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 25,560-point plateau although it's expected to move back to the upside again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets mixed to higher with optimism from technology stocks likely capped by a spike in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Thursday following weakness from the mining and financial sectors, while the technology shares came in mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 87.23 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 25,565.74 after trading between 25,500.96 and 25,792.01.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained mostly in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow climbed 105.56 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 53,569.44, while the NASDAQ rallied 411.15 points or 1.57 percent to close at 26,541.35 and the S&P 500 gained 55.29 points or 0.72 percent to end at 7,730.99.

The surge by the NASDAQ reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from AI giant Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected second quarter results and provided upbeat revenue guidance for the current quarter.

Dow component Salesforce (CRM) also skyrocketed after the company reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates and forecast better than expected Q3 earnings.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium later today.

Crude oil prices soared on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite efforts by Pakistan and Qatar to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.35 or 1.64 percent at $83.58 per barrel.