Hong Kong Stock Market May See Additional Support

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, advancing more than 360 points or 1.4 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 26,450-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished slightly higher on Monday following a mixed performance from the technology stocks, while the property and financial shares were soft.

For the day, the index gained 58.40 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 26,446.56 after trading between 26,280.23 and 26,532.75.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rallied 2.32 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and Hang Lung Properties both skidded 1.00 percent, ANTA Sports added 0.75 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.38 percent, China Mengniu Dairy climbed 1.05 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.76 percent, CITIC dropped 0.81 percent, CNOOC gained 0.31 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical strengthened 1.84 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slumped 1.28 percent, Haier Smart Home lost 0.23 percent, Henderson Land shed 0.43 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.14 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.50 percent, Lenovo stumbled 2.20 percent, Li Auto soared 4.56 percent, Li Ning eased 0.06 percent, Meituan advanced 0.83 percent, New World Development plunged 3.97 percent, Nongfu Spring spiked 4.11 percent, Techtronic Industries retreated 1.46 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.90 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 6.47 percent and JD.com and CLP Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow rose 49.23 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 45,883.45, while the NASDAQ jumped 207.65 points or 0.94 percent to end at a record 22,348.75 and the S&P 500 gained 30.99 points or 0.47 percent to close at 6,615.28, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street came following positive comments from President Donald Trump about trade talks between top U.S. and Chinese officials in Europe.

Traders also continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. With recent data showing relatively subdued inflation and a weakening labor market, the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by at least a quarter-point.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Monday amid brewing Middle East tensions and the heightening Russia-Ukraine war even as softening demand concerns surface. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.58 or 0.93 percent at $63.27 per barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will see August unemployment data later today; in July, the jobless rate was 3.7 percent.