Higher Open Expected For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, accelerating almost 330 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 17,520-point plateau and it's got a positive lead again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with geopolitical concerns warring against optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financials and technology stocks, while the properties were soft.

For the day, the index gained 31.42 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 17,517.40 after trading between 17,447.76 and 17,633.19.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group skidded 0.97 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plunged 1.67 percent, ANTA Sports spiked 2.22 percent, China Life Insurance and Xiaomi Corporation both collected 0.51 percent, China Mengniu Dairy dipped 0.19 percent, China Resources Land retreated 1.49 percent, CITIC and Hong Kong & China Gas both dropped 0.72 percent, CNOOC soared 2.29 percent, Country Garden declined 1.56 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical jumped 1.66 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 1.63 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.37 percent, Henderson Land slumped 1.22 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Meituan both advanced 0.55 percent, JD.com added 0.53 percent, Lenovo rallied 1.22 percent, Li Ning climbed 0.96 percent, New World Development stumbled 1.32 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.54 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 2.75 percent and CK Infrastructure and Hengan International were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Monday, crossing the unchanged line midday and finishing firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 197.07 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 33,604.65, while the NASDAQ climbed 52.90 points or 0.39 percent to close at 13,484.24 and the SP 500 added 27.16 points or 0.63 percent to end at 4,335.66.

The early weakness on Wall Street was the result of the violent clash between Israel and Hamas that started over the weekend.

However, the mood turned positive as worries about interest rates eased after Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said the central bank needs to "proceed carefully to balance the risk of tightening too much."

But the mood in general was cautious with investors awaiting the inflation data later in the week. It could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates amid recent concerns the Federal Reserve will keep rates at an elevated level longer than previously anticipated.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday amid concerns about disruptions to global oil supplies due to rising tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November spiked $3.59 or 4.3 percent at $86.38 a barrel.