Higher Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in seven straight sessions, retreating almost 1,650 points or 8.6 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 17,620-point plateau and it is overdue for support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic after heavy selling in the previous week. The European and U.S. markets finished mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower again on Monday following losses from the financials, properties and technology companies.

For the day, the index plummeted 327.56 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 17,623.29 after trading between 17,587.38 and 17,867.66.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group skidded 1.49 percent, while Alibaba Health Info retreated 1.61 percent, ANTA Sports shed 0.88 percent, China Life Insurance plummeted 3.97 percent, China Mengniu Dairy dropped 1.39 percent, China Resources Land tanked 3.14 percent, CITIC and CK Infrastructure both lost 0.79 percent, CNOOC was down 0.47 percent, Country Garden fell 0.70 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dipped 0.53 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 2.46 percent, Hang Lung Properties sank 0.89 percent, Henderson Land surrendered 2.58 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas slipped 0.51 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China weakened 1.47 percent, JD.com declined 1.68 percent, Lenovo rallied 2.19 percent, Li Ning slumped 1.53 percent, Meituan stumbled 2.23 percent, New World Development eased 0.12 percent, Techtronic Industries perked 0.06 percent, Xiaomi Corporation plunged 3.58 percent and WuXi Biologics slid 0.62 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened mixed on Monday, slumped midday but recovered late, although the Dow still finished in the red.

The Dow shed 36.97 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,463.69, while the NASDAQ jumped 206.81 points or 1.56 percent to end at 13,497.59 and the S&P 500 gained 30.06 points or 0.69 percent to close at 4,399.77.

The spike by the NASDAQ came as traders picked up tech stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the index bouncing off its lowest closing level in two months.

Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW) helped to fuel the tech rally after reporting standout gains, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) weighed on the Dow.

Traders continued to look ahead to the economic summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where major central bankers are congregating later in the week to deliberate on monetary policy.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand, although the extension of production cuts by OPEC helped limit the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $80.72 a barrel. WTI Crude futures for October settled at $80.12 a barrel, down $0.54 or 0.7 percent.