(fxcue news) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, plummeting more than 2,400 points or 11 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,630-point plateau although it may cut into some of those losses on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit. The Hang Seng finished sharply lower again on Wednesday with damage across the board, led lower by the financials, properties, oil companies and technology stocks. For the day, the index stumbled 289.55 points or 1.38 percent to finish at 20,637.24 after trading between 20,190.53 and 21,417.75. Among the actives, Alibaba Group slid 1.53 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plunged 7.08 percent, ANTA Sports fell 1.61 percent, China Life Insurance declined 3.32 percent, China Mengniu Dairy stumbled 3.02 percent, China Resources Land weakened 2.70 percent, CITIC plummeted 8.20 percent, CNOOC tanked 5.16 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surrendered 4.55 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 0.39 percent, Haier Smart Home retreated 3.40 percent, Hang Lung Properties tumbled 3.50 percent, Henderson Land dipped 0.39 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 1.90 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.95 percent, JD.com slipped 0.86 percent, Li Auto was down 0.76 percent, Li Ning slumped 2.79 percent, Meituan rallied 2.33 percent, New World Development shed 1.84 percent, Nongfu Spring dropped 1.92 percent, Techtronic Industries jumped 1.89 percent, Xiaomi Corporation lost 1.69 percent, WuXi Biologics crashed 6.09 percent and Lenovo was unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday but tracked consistently higher as the day progressed, ending near session highs. The Dow surged 431.63 points or 1.03 percent to finish at a record 42,512.00, while the NASDAQ jumped 108.70 points or 0.60 percent to close at 18,291.62 and the S&P 500 rallied 40.91 points or 0.71 percent to also end at a record high 5,792.04. The strength on Wall Street followed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting, which showed that most members favored the larger rate cut rather than a smaller one, generating optimism for future cuts. In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit shrank to $70.4 billion in August from a revised $78.9 billion in July. Economists had expected the trade deficit to decrease to $70.6 billion from the $78.8 billion originally reported for the previous month. Crude oil prices fell Wednesday after data showed a big jump in crude inventories which outweighed possible supply disruptions due to Hurricane Milton and Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November fell $0.33 or 0.45 percent at $73.24 a barrel.