Rebound Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 1,260 points or 8.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 15,700-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is uncertain ahead of the FOMC's rate decision and statement later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage in every sector, although the properties and technology stocks were hit especially hard.

For the day, the index plummeted 373.79 points or 2.32 percent to finish at 15,703.45 after trading between 15,654.97 and 15,896.66.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and Hengan International both shed 2.00 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tanked 4.15 percent, ANTA Sports plunged 4.16 percent, China Life Insurance surrendered 3.00 percent, China Mengniu Dairy and ENN Energy both tumbled 2.89 percent, China Resources Land dropped 2.43 percent, CITIC plummeted 4.66 percent, CNOOC lost 1.36 percent, Country Garden tanked 3.78 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 1.35 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sank 2.04 percent, Hang Lung Properties plummeted 8.40 percent, Henderson Land skidded 2.55 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas was down 1.22 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slid 1.30 percent, JD.com plunged 4.07 percent, Lenovo declined 2.84 percent, Li Ning stumbled 3.39 percent, Meituan slumped 2.82 percent, New World Development tanked 4.04 percent, Techtronic Industries surrendered 3.89 percent, Xiaomi Corporation retreated 3.01 percent, WuXi Biologics tumbled 3.46 percent and CK Infrastructure was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday; the Dow turned higher and finished in the green, while the NASDAQ remained under water throughout the session and the S&P bounced back and forth across the line before ending slightly in the red.

The Dow climbed 133.86 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 38,467.31, while the NASDAQ dropped 118.15 points or 0.76 percent to close at 15,509.90 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.96 points or 0.06 percent to end at 4,924.97.

The pullback by the NASDAQ came as traders cashed in on the recent strength in the tech sector ahead of the release of quarterly results from the likes of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), software giant Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META).

Uncertainty ahead of today's Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement may also have inspired traders to book profits. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected increase in job openings in December. Also, the Conference Board reported a continued improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in January.

Crude oil prices moved sharply on Tuesday, largely offsetting the steep drop in the previous session after the International Monetary Fund raised its global growth forecast for 2024. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery jumped $1.04 or 1.4 percent to $77.82 a barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see preliminary Q4 data for gross domestic product later today; in the third quarter, GDP was up 0.1 percent on quarter and 4.1 percent on year.