Mild Upside Seen For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 820 points or 3.9 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 21,300-point plateau and it's looking at a steady start for Wednesday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amid concerns about interest rates and the possibility of a trade war. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets may split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index dropped 227.12 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 21,294.86 after trading between 21,279.37 and 21,682.41.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group fell 0.57 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plunged 4.80 percent, ANTA Sports shed 1.61 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 2.25 percent, China Mengniu Dairy lost 1.42 percent, China Resources Land sank 1.67 percent, CITIC surrendered 2,67 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.97 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 2.38 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tanked 4.07 percent, Haier Smart Home slumped 1.95 percent, Hang Lung Properties dropped 1.78 percent, Henderson Land declined 2.11 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 0.17 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.55 percent, JD.com weakened 1.86 percent, Lenovo and CLP Holdings both eased 0.16 percent, Li Auto crashed 5.59 percent, Li Ning and Xiaomi Corporation both stumbled 2.74 percent, Meituan slid 0.55 percent, New World Development plummeted 5.34 percent, Nongfu Spring cratered 6.04 percent, Techtronic Industries added 0.50 percent and WuXi Biologics skidded 1.83 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages opened slightly lower but then headed in opposite directions to finish the day mixed.

The Dow gained 123.24 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 44,593.65, while the NASDAQ sank 70.41 points or 0.36 percent to close at 19,643.86 and the S&P 500 rose 2.06 points or 0.03 percent to end at 6,068.50.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders digested congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who told the Senate Banking Committee the central bank does "not need to be in a hurry" to adjust its policy stance.

Stocks moved to the downside in early trading amid lingering concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump officially announced tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports.

Oil prices moved higher Tuesday amid concerns about a possible drop in crude supplies due to U.S. sanctions on Russian oil, while a weaker dollar contributed as well to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $1.00 or 1.4 percent at $73.32 a barrel.