Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 950 points or 5.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 17,670-point plateau although it may find support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on continuing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board, particularly among the financials, properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 296.43 points or 1.65 percent to finish at 17,670.16 after trading between 17,658.91 and 17,890.63.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group lost 2.00 percent, while Alibaba Health Info slid 1.81 percent, ANTA Sports shed 2.15 percent, China Life Insurance stumbled 3.02 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plunged 4.11 percent, China Resources Land weakened 2.31 percent, CITIC tanked 3.95 percent, CNOOC rose 0.16 percent, Country Garden tumbled 3.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slumped 2.66 percent, Galaxy Entertainment dropped 2.28 percent, Hang Lung Properties surrendered 3.83 percent, Henderson Land declined 3.63 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas skidded 2.30 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 1.58 percent, JD.com sank 2.24 percent, Lenovo slipped 1.03 percent, Li Ning plummeted 4.56 percent, Meituan crashed 1.45 percent, New World Development retreated 3.62 percent, Techtronic Industries was down 0.93 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.80 percent and WuXi Biologics fell 1.90 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages shook off early weakness to quickly move higher and finish with modest gains.

The Dow added 56.74 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 34,152.74, while the NASDAQ jumped 121.08 points or 0.90 percent to end at 13,639.86 and the S&P 500 rose 12.40 points or 0.28 percent to close at 4,378.38.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street as traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. But selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, with continued optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributing to the rebound.

The rebound by stocks also came as treasury yields showed a notable move back to the downside after surging in the previous session.

Traders also looked ahead to speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today and Thursday. Powell is due to deliver opening remarks at the Division of Research and Statistics Centennial Conference and participate in a policy panel discussions.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the outlook for fuel demand offset recent decisions by Russia and Saudi Arabia to extend production cuts to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $3.45 or 4.3 percent at $77.37 a barrel.