Hang Seng May Hand Back Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Monday halted the five-day losing streak in which it had given up more than 850 points or 3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just shy of the 24,920-point plateau although it may head south again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to a renewed spike in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financials, telecoms and utilities were capped by weakness from the technology and retail sectors.

For the day, the index climbed 111.97 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 24,917.60 after trading between 24,662.11 and 24,926.24.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, although well off session lows.

The Dow shed 152.09 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 52,421.20, while the NASDAQ sank 146.62 points or 0.56 percent to close at 26,186.41 and the S&P 500 fell 37.03 points or 0.48 percent to end at 7,619.98.

The pullback on Wall Street came amid a substantial rebound by the price of crude oil following news that a planned meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf states over reopening Hormuz has been postponed.

Crude oil prices jumped on Monday after Saudi Arabia confirmed closing its East-West pipeline following attacks by Houthi militants. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.52 or 1.52 percent at $101.57 per barrel.

Selling pressure in the tech sector has also been generated amid renewed worries about artificial intelligence after industry leaders called for a slowdown in the pace of AI development.

Traders are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy decision later this week. With oil prices surging and recent data pointing to stick inflation, CME Group's FedWatch tool is currently showing a nearly 90 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point.