Hang Seng May Add To Its Winnings On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Monday halted the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 500 points or 2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,830-point plateau and it figures to open to the upside again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the property sector came in mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 368.42 points or 1.45 percent to finish at 25,834.02 after trading between 25,317.81 and 25,856.73.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group gained 1.13 percent, while Alibaba Health Info vaulted 1.99 percent, ANTA Sports gathered 0.90 percent, China Life Insurance collected 1.28 percent, China Mengniu Dairy spiked 3.78 percent, China Resources Land increased 1.46 percent, CITIC added 1.24 percent, CNOOC slumped 1.08 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged 5.12 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 0.22 percent, Haier Smart Home shed 0.24 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.22 percent, Henderson Land was up 0.65 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas tumbled 1.61 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 2.37 percent, JD.com climbed 1.73 percent, Lenovo expanded 1.81 percent, Li Auto rallied 2.95 percent, Li Ning advanced 1.66 percent, Meituan accelerated 3.09 percent, New World Development improved 1.51 percent, Nongfu Spring strengthened 2.33 percent, Techtronic Industries retreated 1.24 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skyrocketed 5.64 percent and WuXi Biologics rose 0.98 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day, snapping a four-day losing streak.

The Dow jumped 387.94 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 46,946.41, while the NASDAQ rallied 268.82 points or 1.22 percent to end at 22,374.18 and the S&P 500 spiked 67.19 points or 1.01 percent to close at 6,699.38.

The rebound on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil after President Donald Trump called on other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices slipped Monday as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz showed mild signs of easing. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down $5.38 or 5.45 percent at $93.33 per barrel.

The pullback by oil prices helped ease recent inflation concerns, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets in the coming days.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production in the U.S. increased slightly more than expected in February.