(fxcue news) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, surrendering more than 250 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,150-point plateau although it may find traction on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on improved optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow suit. The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies. For the day, the index slumped 156.23 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 20,155.05 after trading between 20,100.07 and 20,481.37. Among the actives, Alibaba Group was down 0.46 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and CLP Holdings both lost 1.07 percent, ANTA Sports dipped 0.66 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.91 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 1.16 percent, China Resources Land dropped 1.45 percent, CITIC sank 1.43 percent, CNOOC added 0.68 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slid 0.79 percent, Galaxy Entertainment fell 0.82 percent, Haier Smart Home shed 1.24 percent, Hang Lung Properties plummeted 3.70 percent, Henderson Land tumbled 1.96 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.67 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slipped 0.62 percent, JD.com tanked 2.80 percent, Lenovo slumped 1.79 percent, Li Auto skidded 1.61 percent, Li Ning declined 1.83 percent, Meituan stumbled 2.79 percent, New World Development surrendered 1.94 percent, Nongfu Spring jumped 1.53 percent, Techtronic Industries plunged 3.62 percent, Xiaomi Corporation weakened 1.62 percent and WuXi Biologics advanced 0.88 percent. The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened in the green on Wednesday, although the Dow was unable to hold those gains. The Dow dropped 99.27 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 44,148.56, while the NASDAQ surged 347.65 points or 1.77 percent to close at a record 20,034.89 and the S&P 500 rallied 49.28 points or 0.82 percent to end at 6,084.19. The strength in the broader markets followed the release of closely watched inflation data that came in line with estimates. With the data matching expectations, the report has increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another quarter-point next week. CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 98.6 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at its December meeting. Oil futures settled higher Wednesday on possible sanctions on Russia by the European Union, expectations of increased demand from China and data showing a jump in gasoline stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January closed up $1.70 or 2.5 percent at $70.29 a barrel. Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide Q3 data for industrial production and producer prices later today; in the three month prior, industrial output was up 0.7 percent on year, while producer prices were up 3.1 percent on year.