Hang Seng May Be Hit By Profit Taking On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in three consecutive trading days, collecting more than 1,200 points or 5.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 22,230-point plateau although investors may cash in on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with support from oil stocks likely to offset weakness from technology shares. 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 Monday following gains from the financials, properties, oil companies and technology stocks.

For the day, the index surged 510.46 points or 2.35 percent to finish at 22,229.52 after trading between 21,976.80 and 22,414.43.

Among the actives, AAC Technologies spiked 6.94 percent, while Alibaba Group increased 3.69 percent, Alibaba Health Info surged 10.56 percent, ANTA Sports soared 8.05 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.89 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gained 2.37 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) perked 1.15 percent, China Resources Land advanced 0.71 percent, CITIC added 2.42 percent, CNOOC gathered 2.64 percent, Country Garden rallied 6.00 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 0.26 percent, Galaxy Entertainment jumped 5.36 percent, Hang Lung Properties strengthened 4.86 percent, Henderson Land and Techtronic Industries both rose 2.07 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.60 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.66 percent, JD.com accelerated 6.24 percent, Lenovo improved 4.71 percent, Li Ning climbed 4.73 percent, Meituan advanced 3.48 percent, New World Development was up 1.07 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skyrocketed 12.44 percent and WuXi Biologics lost 0.71 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages quickly headed south on Monday, rebounded midday and then turned modestly lower again into the close.

The Dow sank 62.42 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 31,438.26, while the NASDAQ shed 83.07 points or 0.72 percent to end at 11,524.55 and the S&P 500 dipped 11.63 points or 0.30 percent to close at 3,900.11.

The volatility came as investors stayed cautious, reassessing the expected path of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes amid falling inflation expectations.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased more than expected in May. Also, the National Association of Realtors noted an unexpected rebound in pending home sales in May.

Oil futures settled higher on Monday, extending gains from the previous session amid slightly easing worries about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.95 or 1.8 percent at $109.57 a barrel.