Hong Kong Shares May Find Traction On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in consecutive trading days, surrendering almost 460 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 21,160-point plateau although it's due for support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and property stocks, while the technology companies were mixed. For the day, the index dipped 26.00 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 21,164.42 after trading between 20,799.91 and 21,230.15. Among the actives, Alibaba Group eased 0.10 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 1.16 percent, ANTA Sports jumped 1.09 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.18 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 2.16 percent, China Resources Land gained 0.27 percent, CITIC sank 0.55 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.88 percent, Country Garden surged 3.17 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.23 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and Xiaomi Corporation both added 0.46 percent, Hang Lung Properties tanked 2.13 percent, Henderson Land plunged 4.79 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dropped 0.39 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.25 percent, JD.com tumbled 1.43 percent, Lenovo dipped 0.15 percent, Li Ning soared 2.42 percent, Meituan perked 0.07 percent, New World Development plummeted 6.68 percent, Techtronic Industries climbed 0.96 percent and WuXi Biologics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs. The Dow jumped 376.66 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 34,245.93, while the NASDAQ spiked 173.67 points or 1.48 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 46.83 points or 1.14 percent to end at 4,137.29.

The strength on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after last week's weakness, which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Trading remained subdued, however, as traders look ahead to Tuesday's closely watched report on consumer price inflation. The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates amid recent speculation the Federal Reserve may raise rates higher than anticipated.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday afternoon, unable to held early gains. West Texas Intermediate was down $0.43 or 0.54 percent to $79.29 per barrel, coming off a high of $80.62 earlier in the day.