Higher Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked lower in back-to-back sessions, stumbling almost 500 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,560-point plateau although it's expected to find support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing concerns over the health of the financial sector. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday with damage in all sectors, especially among the property and technology companies.

For the day, the index tumbled 347.99 points or 1.75 percent to finish at 19,567.69 after trading between 19,509.49 and 19,938.77. Among the actives, Alibaba Group eased 0.06 percent, while Alibaba Health Info slumped 1.10 percent, ANTA Sports weakened 1.06 percent, China Life Insurance stumbled 1.07 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 2.31 percent, China Resources Land tanked 2.40 percent, CITIC sank 0.88 percent, CNOOC and CLP Holdings both shed 0.71 percent, Country Garden plummeted 4.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical added 0.65 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gained 0.39 percent, Hang Lung Properties plunged 3.03 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas declined 1.30 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.95 percent, JD.com tanked 3.53 percent, Lenovo skidded 1.02 percent, Li Ning tumbled 2.74 percent, Meituan plummeted 6.28 percent, New World Development surrendered 1.64 percent, Techtronic Industries retreated 1.29 percent, Xiaomi Corporation plunged 3.54 percent and WuXi Biologics rose 0.31 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened in the green on Monday, although the tech-heavy NASDAQ quickly slipped into negative territory and never emerged.

The Dow jumped 194.55 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 32,432.08, while the NASDAQ sank 55.12 points or 0.47 percent to end at 11,768.84 and the S&P 500 rose 6.54 points or 0.16 percent to close at 3,977.53.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to build on last week's gains as fears of a global banking crisis once again eased following the latest developments in the sector.

Shares of First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA) skyrocketed after the company reached an agreement with the FDIC to purchase all deposits and loans of failed Silicon Valley Bridge Bank.

U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) also showed a strong move back to the upside after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz noted the bank remains profitable.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday amid concerns about oil supply after Russian President Vladmir Putin said he will station tactical nuclear weapons in ally Belarus. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May surged $3.55 or 5.1 percent at $72.81 a barrel.