Hong Kong Stock Market May Extend Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 260 points or 1.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,370-point plateau and it's predicted to move higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on an improving outlook for interest rates. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, oil companies, properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index jumped 173.01 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 16,374.50 after trading between 16,157.68 and 16,420.97.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group strengthened 1.89 percent, while ANTA Sports advanced 1.58 percent, China Life Insurance improved 1.54 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gathered 1.44 percent, China Resources Land skyrocketed 5.91 percent, CITIC accelerated 2.40 percent, CNOOC rose 0.32 percent, Country Garden spiked 3.86 percent, Haier Smart Home fell 0.24 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.57 percent, Henderson Land and New World Development both climbed 1.62 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas added 1.30 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.11 percent, JD.com jumped 2.09 percent, Lenovo lost 0.51 percent, Li Ning surged 4.37 percent, Meituan increased 1.32 percent, Techtronic Industries rallied 2.29 percent, Xiaomi Corporation soared 4.12 percent and WuXi Biologics, CSPC Pharmaceutical, Galaxy Entertainment and Alibaba Health Info were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off a soft open, quickly moving into the green and finishing well in positive territory.

The Dow advanced 173.01 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 36,577.94, while the NASDAQ jumped 100.91 points or 0.70 percent to close at 14,533.40 and the S&P 500 gained 21.26 points or 0.46 percent to end at 4,643.70.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer prices inched up in line with economist estimates in November.

The data has added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking to the accompanying statement and projections for signs the central bank could begin cutting rates next year.

Crude oil prices fell to a six-month low Tuesday amid lingering concerns about the outlook for fuel demand and worries about possible oversupply in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down $2.71 or 3.8 percent at $68.61 a barrel.