Lower Open Predicted For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, tumbling more than 830 points or 5 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 16,190-point plateau and it's likely to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the energy, property and technology companies.

For the day, the index slumped 34.43 points or 0.21 percent to finish at the daily low of 16,190.02 after moving as high as 16,414.79.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group dropped 0.85 percent, while ANTA Sports jumped 1.36 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.16 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 1.17 percent, China Resources Land declined 1.34 percent, CITIC rose 0.27 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.32 percent, Country Garden improved 0.98 percent, Galaxy Entertainment skidded 0.97 percent, Hang Lung Properties soared 2.58 percent, Henderson Land added 0.67 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 1.02 percent, JD.com plunged 3.16 percent, Lenovo surged 4.53 percent, Li Ning tanked 2.33 percent, Meituan plummeted 4.60 percent, New World Development retreated 1.46 percent, Techtronic Industries climbed 1.06 percent, Xiaomi Corporation dipped 0.14 percent and WuXi Biologics, CSPC Pharmaceutical, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Alibaba Health Info were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and largely stayed under water, although the NASDAQ managed to break barely into the green.

The Dow shed 157.85 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 37,525.16, while the NASDAQ rose 13.94 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,857.71 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.04 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,756.50.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on Monday's strong gains amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged later this month, traders have recently become increasingly skeptical about whether the central bank will cut rates in March.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in November.

Oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as rising geopolitical risks raised concerns about possible supply and trade disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled higher by $1.47 at $72.24 a barrel.