Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in three straight trading days, stumbling almost 550 points or 3.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,600-point plateau and it's likely to open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on rising concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index sank 121.23 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 16,600.46 after trading between 16,465.40 and 16,647.09.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group retreated 1.74 percent, while Alibaba Health Info sank 1.09 percent, ANTA Sports surrendered 2.17 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.45 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 1.86 percent, China Resources Land shed 0.85 percent, CITIC lost 0.71 percent, CNOOC jumped 1.47 percent, Country Garden dropped 1.10 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical weakened 1.18 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plunged 2.76 percent, Haier Smart Home advanced 0.99 percent, Hang Lung Properties slid 0.37 percent, Henderson Land eased 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas declined 1.69 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.00 percent, JD.com skidded 1.17 percent, Lenovo rallied 2.64 percent, Li Ning plummeted 4.63 percent, Meituan fell 0.49 percent, New World Development slumped 1.36 percent, Techtronic Industries stumbled 1.62 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rose 0.12 percent and WuXi Biologics tanked 2.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly head south and finished deep in the red.

The Dow dropped 248.13 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 37,735.11, while the NASDAQ tumbled 290.08 points or 1.79 percent to close at 15,885.02 and the S&P 500 sank 61.59 points or 1.20 percent to end at 5,061.82.

The initial strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Goldman Sachs (GS) as the investment banking company reported Q1 earnings that exceeded estimates on better than expected revenues.

Traders also initially reacted positively to a Commerce Department report showing much stronger than expected U.S. retail sales growth in March - but the data triggered another spike by treasury yields.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note has surged to its highest levels in five months, as the data has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday amid slightly easing concerns about supply disruptions after Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel did not cause any big damage. Concerns about the outlook for oil demand in China and a strong U.S. dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for May ended lower by $0.25 at $85.41 a barrel.