Hong Kong Stock Market Has Solid Lead For Wednesday's Trade

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had plunged more than 840 points or 3.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 21,300-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on increasing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the technology and property stocks.

For the day, the index climbed 76.54 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 21,298.70 after trading between 21,259.21 and 21,512.21.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group soared 1.55 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 0.16 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.15 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 0.81 percent, China Resources Land gained 0.28 percent, CITIC fell 0.22 percent, CNOOC surged 2.15 percent, Country Garden added 0.45 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical sank 0.46 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plummeted 2.58 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 1.28 percent, Henderson Land slumped 0.52 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas retreated 1.16 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.00 percent, Lenovo advanced 0.63 percent, Li Ning eased 0.07 percent, Meituan lost 0.24 percent, Techtronic Industries tumbled 1.52 percent, Xiaomi Corporation was up 0.16 percent, WuXi Biologics spiked 1.50 percent and ANTA Sports, JD.com and New World Development were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages shook off flat morning trade on Tuesday, rallying in the afternoon.

The Dow jumped265.67 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 34,156.69, while the NASDAQ surged 226.34 points or 1.90 percent to end at 12,113.79 and the S&P 500 advanced 52.92 points or 1.29 percent to close at 4,164.00.

The late rally on Wall Street came in reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of Washington. In a Q&A session, Powell said he expects 2023 to be a year of "significant declines in inflation."

Powell said inflation is beginning to ease, though he expects it to be a long process and cautioned that interest rates could rise more than markets expect if the economic data doesn't cooperate.

Oil prices advanced Tuesday on expectations of higher energy demand from China, and on supply concerns following a massive earthquake in Turkey on Monday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $3.02 or 4.1 percent at $77.14 a barrel, the highest close since January 31.