Hang Seng May Stop The Bleeding On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, giving away more than 930 points or 4.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,940-point plateau although it's expected to halt its slide on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, mostly on bargain hunting following heavy selling last week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and technology stocks. For the day, the index lost 66.53 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 19,943.51 after trading between 19,804.56 and 20,086.53. Among the actives, Alibaba Group dropped 0.72 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 0.18 percent, ANTA Sports added 0.78 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 0.89 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 1.26 percent, China Resources Land sank 0.55 percent, CITIC declined 1.34 percent, CNOOC tanked 1.93 percent, Country Garden climbed 0.93 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plummeted 2.38 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plunged 2.07 percent, Hang Lung Properties tumbled 1.54 percent, Henderson Land advanced 0.92 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.14 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slumped 1.00 percent, JD.com lost 0.22 percent, Lenovo improved 0.42 percent, Li Ning gained 0.75 percent, Meituan jumped 1.34 percent, New World Development surged 2.66 percent, Techtronic Industries rallied 0.96 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 1.17 percent and WuXi Biologics increased 0.28 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened sharply higher on Monday, faded as the day progressed but still finished with modest gains.

The Dow added 72.17 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 32,889.09, while the NASDAQ advanced 72.04 points or 0.63 percent to close at 11,466.98 and the S&P 500 rose 12.20 points or 0.31 percent to end at 3,982.24.

The early rally on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop last week.

However, buying interest waned over the course of the session as traders expressed concerns about the outlook for interest rates as recent economic data has led to worries the Federal Reserve will raise rates more than anticipated.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a sharp pullback in new orders for durable goods in January. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in the U.S. spiked by more than expected in January.

Crude oil prices pulled back Monday, handing back recent gains on concerns that higher interest rates will tip the global economy into a recession. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery slid $0.64 or 0.8 percent to $75.68 a barrel.