Oversold Hang Seng Nonetheless Called To Open Lower

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, giving away almost 1,100 points or 5.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,785-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with profit taking expected amid concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials, oil companies and technology stocks, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 157.57 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 19,785.94 after trading between 19,783.07 and 20,185.05.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group tanked 3.24 percent, while Alibaba Health Info stumbled 2.10 percent, ANTA Sports fell 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.60 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 2.13 percent, China Resources Land plunged 3.33 percent, CITIC surrendered 2.26 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.25 percent, Country Garden plummeted 4.59 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical declined 2.20 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rose 0.10 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 1.05 percent, Henderson Land advanced 0.55 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.27 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.76 percent, JD.com tumbled 2.42 percent, Lenovo sank 0.98 percent, Li Ning slid 0.37 percent, Meituan eased 0.07 percent, New World Development added 0.47 percent, Techtronic Industries skidded 1.20 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 2.34 percent and Xiaomi Corporation was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday. The Dow spent all day in the red, while the NASDAQ and S&P visited positive territory for a bit but couldn't hold the gains and ended under water.

The Dow tumbled 232.39 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 32,656.70, while the NASDAQ dipped 11.44 points or 0.10 percent to close at 11,455.54 and the S&P 500 fell 12.09 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,970.15.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in February. Also, the Conference Board said U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased for the second consecutive month in February.

Following the pullback a day earlier, the price of crude oil showed a strong move back to the upside on Tuesday, thanks to optimism about increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $1.37 or 1.8 percent to $77.05 a barrel.