Lower Open Expected For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 1,200 points or 4.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,800-point plateau although it's looking at a soft start again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index added 59.20 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 26,834.77 after trading between 26,431.80 and 27,126.48.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group stumbled 1.41 percent, while Alibaba Health Info gained 0.64 percent, ANTA Sports fell 0.13 percent, China Life Insurance and Hong Kong & China Gas both rallied 2.87 percent, China Mengniu Dairy advanced 1.88 percent, China Resources Land climbed 2.02 percent, CITIC perked 0.16 percent, CNOOC rose 0.60 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical skyrocketed 8.09 percent, Galaxy Entertainment soared 4.01 percent, Haier Smart Home jumped 2.73 percent, Hang Lung Properties increased 0.97 percent, Henderson Land accelerated 2.91 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.47 percent, JD.com dropped 0.72 percent, Lenovo added 1.55 percent, Li Auto improved 1.86 percent, Li Ning surged 4.40 percent, Meituan tumbled 1.74 percent, New World Development vaulted 2.30 percent, Nongfu Spring eased 0.04 percent, Techtronic Industries expanded 2.27 percent, Xiaomi Corporation slumped 1.31 percent and WuXi Biologics spiked 3.12 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and spent the rest of the day largely under water.

The Dow dropped 166.67 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 49,240.99, while the NASDAQ tumbled 336.92 points or 1.43 percent to close at 23,255.19 and the S&P 500 sank 58.63 points or 0.84 percent to end at 6,917.81.

The weakness on Wall Street was largely due to a rotation out of technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the NASDAQ.

The U.S. Software Index slumped to its lowest closing level in over nine months, while substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks.

Gold stocks also saw considerable strength amid a significant rebound by the price of the precious metal. Steel, energy and housing stocks also moved notably higher on the day, helping to limit the downside for the broader markets.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index moved lower, while news of the U.S.-India trade agreement has led to anticipation of a spur in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.10 or 1.77 percent at $63.24 per barrel.