Hong Kong Shares May Open Under Water On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in three straight trading days, stumbling almost 600 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 23,780-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative on concerns over tariff and on the health of the world's economy. The European and U.S. markets were down again and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished basically flat on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index eased 1.35 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 23,782.14 after trading between 23,238.36 and 23,858.61.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group dropped 0.67 percent, while Alibaba Health Info improved 1.40 percent, ANTA Sports strengthened 1.72 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 1.01 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 0.64 percent, China Resources Land sank 0.39 percent, CITIC gained 0.74 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical increased 0.63 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 0.31 percent, Haier Smart Home jumped 1.95 percent, Hang Lung Properties, Henderson Land soared 2.65 percent, JD.com declined 1.36 percent, Lenovo added 0.81 percent, Li Auto spiked 2.26 percent, Li Ning accelerated 2.24 percent, Meituan tumbled 1.89 percent, New World Development retreated 1.65 percent, Nongfu Spring surged 4.94 percent, Techtronic Industries dipped 0.20 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rallied 1.99 percent, WuXi Biologics climbed 1.47 percent and Hong Kong & China Gas, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and CNOOC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains soft as the major averages opened mixed but trended generally lower throughout the day before ending in the red.

The Dow tumbled 478.23 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 41,433.48, while the NASDAQ shed 32.23 points or 0.18 percent to close at 17,436.10 and the S&P 500 sank 42.49 points or 0.76 percent to end at 5,572.07.

Stocks tumbled as trade war concerns have escalated with the U.S. and Canada slapping tariffs on each other's goods.

Markets now await U.S. reports on consumer and producer price inflation, as well as readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations this week for further direction.

Oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday, bouncing back fairly well on a weaker dollar after dropping to six-month lows in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April added $0.22 or 0.3 percent at $66.25 a barrel.