Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open In The Red On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 600 points or 2.4 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 25,000-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity as investors wait and see what happens with tariff deadlines. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the property stocks and a mixed picture from the technology shares.

For the day, the index gained 168.48 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 24,994.14 after trading between 24,844.80 and 25,010.90.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group strengthened 1.81 percent, while ANTA Sports dropped 0.91 percent, China Life Insurance accelerated 2.24 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gained 0.83 percent, China Resources Land expanded 1.76 percent, CITIC rallied 2.19 percent, CNOOC advanced 1.30 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical stumbled 2.07 percent, Galaxy Entertainment shed 0.67 percent, Haier Smart Home increased 1.21 percent, Hang Lung Properties gathered 0.54 percent, Henderson Land collected 0.38 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.89 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.81 percent, JD.com jumped 2.11 percent, Lenovo rose 0.59 percent, Li Auto slumped 1.29 percent, Li Ning spiked 2.34 percent, Meituan soared 2.75 percent, New World Development improved 1.26 percent, Nongfu Spring surged 2.91 percent, Techtronic Industries lost 0.33 percent, Xiaomi Corporation climbed 1.32 percent, WuXi Biologics tanked 1.93 percent and Alibaba Health Info was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened solidly higher on Monday but ebbed throughout the session before ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow sank 19.12 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 44,323.07, while the NASDAQ gained 78.52 points or 0.38 percent to close at a fresh record 20,974.17 and the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points or 0.14 percent to end at 6,305.60 - also a record.

The early strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about potential trade deals, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying he is confident the U.S. will reach an agreement with the European Union.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of earnings news from several big-name companies this week, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC).

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by slightly more than expected in the month of June.

Crude oil prices slipped on Monday as investors seem concerned that heavy tariffs could block international trade and reduce demand for oil and energy. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dipped $0.11 to $69.17 per barrel.