Oversold Hang Seng Nonetheless Called To Open Lower

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, plummeting almost 875 points or 5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index sits just above the 17,210-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over economic growth and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday with damage across the board, especially among the financials, properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index plunged 523.39 points or 2.95 percent to finish at 17,216.66 after trading between 17,174.61 and 17,449.36.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surrendered 3.26 percent, while Alibaba Health Info weakened 1.91 percent, ANTA Sports plummeted 5.34 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 2.09 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 3.28 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 1.16 percent, China Resources Land rose 0.16 percent, CITIC stumbled 2.39 percent, CNOOC eased 0.71 percent, Country Garden sank 1.70 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slipped 0.78 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plunged 4.52 percent, Hang Lung Properties lost 1.20 percent, Henderson Land declined 3.14 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dropped 1.71 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 1.33 percent, JD.com tanked 3.71 percent, Lenovo slid 1.09 percent, Li Ning plummeted 8.83 percent, Meituan plunged 6.71 percent, New World Development tumbled 3.29 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 5.59 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skidded 1.76 percent, WuXi Biologics retreated 2.49 percent and Longfor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Monday but quickly turned lower, staying that way for the balance of the session.

The Dow dropped 93.91 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 29,202.88, while the NASDAQ tumbled 110.30 points or 1.04 percent to end at 10,542.10 and the S&P 500 slipped 27.27 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,612.39.

The soft action on Wall Street may be partially attributed to light turnover, with many investors away from their desks for the Columbus Day holiday.

Soft sentiment still governed the markets after the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report last week failed to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates by coming in stronger than economists had anticipated.

U.S. inflation data, minutes from the Fed's September meeting and reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment due this week will provide more insights into policymakers' view of where inflation stands and the outlook for the future path of interest rates.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as soft data from China raised concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.51 or 1.6 percent at 91.13 a barrel.