Hong Kong Shares Expected To Open Under Pressure On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 170 points or 0.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,530-point plateau and it's likely to extend its losses on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, thanks to renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the propertied and technology stocks.

For the day, the index sank 68.71 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 20,534.48 after trading between 20,358.78 and 21,005.66.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rallied 1.55 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tumbled 2.18 percent, ANTA Sports slumped 1.19 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 0.14 percent, China Resources Land advanced 0.80 percent, CITIC jumped 1.43 percent, CNOOC surged 3.34 percent, Country Garden declined 1.67 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical skidded 1.03 percent, Galaxy Entertainment dropped 0.64 percent, Hang Lung Properties climbed 1.15 percent, Henderson Land dipped 0.18 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 0.28 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.73 percent, JD.com sank 0.48 percent, Lenovo 0.13 percent, Li Ning tanked 2.24 percent, Meituan plummeted 3.50 percent, New World Development spiked 1.57 percent, Techtronic Industries retreated 1.37 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gained 0.16 percent, WuXi Biologics plunged 2.79 percent and China Life Insurance was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quickly turned lower, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow plunged 574.98 points or 1.72 percent to finish at 32,856.46, while the NASDAQ sank 145.41 points or 1.25 percent to end at 11,530.33 and the S&P 500 dropped 62.05 points or 1.53 percent to close at 3,986.37.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

Citing stubbornly elevated inflation and stronger than expected economic data, Powell told lawmakers the "ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated."

Powell also said the Fed would be prepared to reaccelerate the pace of rate hikes and for a longer period if incoming data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted.

Crude oil prices tumbled Tuesday on renewed uncertainty about energy demand, while a surging greenback also weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April slumped $2.88 or 3.6 percent at $77.58 a barrel.