More Pain Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had given up more than 470 points or 2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 23,980-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative in rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses among the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index shed 80.69 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 23,980.30 after trading between 23,880.67 and 24,131.44.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group jumped 1.68 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and Nongfu Spring both retreated 1.26 percent, ANTA Sports gained 0.26 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.76 percent, China Mengniu Dairy lost 0.35 percent, China Resources Land perked 0.18 percent, CITIC strengthened 1.62 percent, CNOOC tumbled 2.04 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plummeted 6.40 percent, ENN Energy rallied 1.55 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 1.06 percent, Haier Smart Home climbed 1.31 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.29 percent, Henderson Land shed 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dropped 0.45 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 0.98 percent, JD.com added 0.46 percent, Lenovo slumped 0.76 percent, Li Auto tanked 2.34 percent, Li Ning improved 0.79 percent, Meituan skidded 0.50 percent, New World Development stumbled 2.26 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.39 percent, Xiaomi Corporation slid 0.28 percent, WuXi Biologics plunged 3.02 percent and Hengan International and CLP Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday but saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending firmly under water.

The Dow stumbled 299.29 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 42,215.80, while the NASDAQ slumped 180.12 points or 0.91 percent to close at 19,521.09 and the S&P 500 sank 50.39 points or 0.84 percent to end at 5,982.72.

While reports hinting at an end to hostilities contributed to a rally on Monday, news that President Donald Trump left a G7 summit early to focus on the conflict has led to worries about further escalation.

The weakness on Wall Street also came after the release of a Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales fell by more than expected in the month of May.

Crude prices soared on Tuesday, with the conflict between Israel and Iran showing no sign of retreat. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery shot up by $3.07 to settle at $74.84 per barrel.