Higher Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, advancing more than 450 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,600-point plateau and the win streak may continue on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with oil prices being the main catalyst to the upside. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion. The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies. For the day, the index rallied 376.69 points or 1.44 percent to finish at the daily high of 26,608.48 after trading as low as 26,187.76. Among the actives, Alibaba Group soared 5.32 percent, while Alibaba Health Info skyrocketed 10.23 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 1.12 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 1.27 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 0.40 percent, China Resources Land eased 0.07 percent, CITIC increased 0.91 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical accelerated 3.05 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 1.23 percent, Haier Smart Home added 0.85 percent, Hang Lung Properties strengthened 2.18 percent, Henderson Land spiked 3.98 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.42 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.79 percent, JD.com expanded 2.01 percent, Li Ning sank 0.15 percent, Meituan surged 6.60 percent, New World Development improved 1.20 percent, Nongfu Spring rallied 2.91 percent, Techtronic Industries vaulted 2.75 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 2.43 percent, WuXi Biologics climbed 1.40 percent and Lenovo, Li Auto and CNOOC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Monday but managed to break into the green shortly thereafter.

The Dow added 86.13 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 49,590.20, while the NASDAQ gained 62.56 points or 0.26 percent to close at 23,733.90 and the S&P 500 rose 10.99 points or 0.16 percent to end at 6,977.27.

The initial pullback on Wall Street reflected concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence after Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the U.S. central bank has been served subpoenas by the Department of Justice that threaten criminal charges.

Powell termed this action "unprecedented" and ascribed it to President Donald Trump's ongoing threats and pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for interest rates. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting later this month, the central bank is still likely to cut rates by at least another quarter point in the coming months.

Crude oil prices climbed on Monday as the increasing possibility of U.S. intervention to end the Iran turmoil sets off production disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $0.33 or 0.51 percent at $59.42 per barrel.