Losing Streak My Continue For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Tuesday's holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Hong Kong stock market had moved lower in back-to-back sessions, shedding more than 325 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,950-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected especially among the technology shares. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 183.15 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 26,957.77 after trading between 26,873.34 and 27,145.17.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group contracted 2.49 percent, while Alibaba Health Info stumbled 2.54 percent, ANTA Sports skidded 1.30 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.82 percent, China Mengniu Dairy surrendered 2.77 percent, China Resources Land slipped 0.55 percent, CITIC fell 0.72 percent, CNOOC was down 0.48 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plunged 2.99 percent, Haier Smart Home tumbled 2.48 percent, Hang Lung Properties improved 0.82 percent, Henderson Land dropped 1.09 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gave up 0.44 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slid 0.70 percent, JD.com declined 2.14 percent, Lenovo retreated 2.21 percent, Li Auto plummeted 3.31 percent, Li Ning shed 0.92 percent, Meituan dipped 0.47 percent, New World Development added 0.61 percent, Nongfu Spring sank 0.93 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 2.89 percent, Xiaomi Corporation weakened 2.09 percent, WuXi Biologics eased 0.43 percent and CSPC Pharmaceutical was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 91.99 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 46,602.98, while the NASDAQ dropped 153.30 points or 0.67 percent to end at 22,788.36 and the S&P 500 sank 25.69 points or 0.38 percent to close at 6,714.59.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 close higher for seven straight sessions.

A slump by shares of Oracle (ORCL) also weighed on the markets following reports that raised questions about the profitability of its artificial intelligence rollout.

Lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has led to the indefinite delay of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Crude oil prices crept slightly higher on Tuesday, despite forecasts of weakening oil demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.02 or 0.03 percent at $61.71 per barrel.