Hong Kong Bourse May Spin Its Wheels On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for the buddha's birthday, the Hong Kong stock market had finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 550 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 22,500-point plateau although the rally may stall on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tariff concerns and sinking oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Friday with gains across the board, especially among the technology stocks.

For the day, the index rallied 385.28 points or 1.74 percent to finish at 22,504.68 after trading between 22,058.30 and 22,532.54.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 3.83 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 2.18 percent, ANTA Sports advanced 1.03 percent, China Life Insurance strengthened 2.11 percent, China Mengniu Dairy soared 3.76 percent, China Resources Land increased 0.76 percent, CITIC perked 0.11 percent, CNOOC gathered 0.12 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical climbed 1.31 percent, Galaxy Entertainment jumped 2.13 percent, Haier Smart Home spiked 2.44 percent, Hang Lung Properties improved 0.94 percent, Henderson Land added 0.91 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.57 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.19 percent, JD.com rallied 3.28 percent, Lenovo jumped 2.89 percent, Li Auto accelerated 3.57 percent, Li Ning spiked 3.67 percent, Meituan strengthened 1.69 percent, New World Development climbed 1.26 percent, Nongfu Spring gained 0.70 percent, Techtronic Industries soared 4.02 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skyrocketed 6.31 percent and WuXi Biologics surged 5.70 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Monday, rallied midday but turned lower into the finish to end in the red.

The Dow shed 98.60 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 41,218.83, while the NASDAQ dropped 133.49 points or 0.74 percent to close at 17,844.24 and the S&P 500 sank 36.29 points or 0.64 percent to end at 5,650.38.

The early pullback on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which had lifted the major averages to their best levels in a month.

Renewed trade concerns also weighed on stocks after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 100 percent tariff on movies produced in foreign countries.

However, early selling pressure waned following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an unexpected increase in U.S. service sector activity in April.

Crude oil futures moved sharply lower on Monday to a four-year low after several members of OPEC+ agreed to increase oil production for a second month. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery tumbled $1.16 or 2 percent to $57.13 a barrel.