The Hong Kong stock market on Thursday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had added more than 60 points or 0.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 17,720-point plateau although it\'s tipped to open in the green on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher ahead of key inflation data later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower with damage across the board, especially among the financials, properties and technology stocks.
For the day, the index plummeted 373.46 points or 2.06 percent to finish at 17,716.47 after trading between 17,677.33 and 17,961.92.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group sank 1.78 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plummeted 5.07 percent, ANTA Sports dropped 2.18 percent, China Life Insurance slumped2.28 percent, China Mengniu Dairy skidded 2.19 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 3.10 percent, CITIC surrendered 3.38 percent, CNOOC plunged 3.55 percent, Country Garden declined 2.59 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 3.36 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and CLP Holdings both lost 1.74 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 1.48 percent, Henderson Land was down 0.94 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas slid 1.19 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slipped 1.08 percent, JD.com weakened 2.22 percent, Lenovo shed 1.76 percent, Li Ning tanked 3.39 percent, Meituan retreated 2.82 percent, New World Development added 0.41 percent, Techtronic Industries jumped 1.81 percent, Xiaomi Corporation plummeted 7.18 percent and WuXi Biologics plunged 4.26 percent
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line all day Thursday before finally settling with mild gains.
The Dow added 36.26 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 39,164.06, while the NASDAQ gained 53.53 points or 0.30 percent to close at 17,858.68 and the S&P 500 rose 4.97 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,482.87.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key inflation data later today.
The Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve; the report could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly crept higher last month.
Oil futures settled higher Thursday on hopes about the outlook for demand, and on concerns about possible supply disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August added $0.84 at $81.74 a barrel.