Higher Open Expected For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 750 points or 3.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 24,160-point plateau and it's likely to remain rangebound on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is hopeful on continuing trade talks between the United States and China. 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 slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the technology stocks were mitigated by support from the property sector.

For the day, the index shed 18.56 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 24,162.87 after trading between 24,003.38 and 24,296.47.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group shed 0.42 percent, while Alibaba Health Info declined 1.50 percent, ANTA Sports strengthened 1.40 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.24 percent, China Mengniu Dairy dropped 0.44 percent, China Resources Land added 0.56 percent, CITIC spiked 2.47 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical soared 2.95 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 2.22 percent, Haier Smart Home and Lenovo both sank 0.43 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 1.87 percent, Henderson Land improved 1.21 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.15 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.18 percent, JD.com retreated 1.57 percent, Li Auto stumbled 2.75 percent, Li Ning climbed 1.28 percent, Meituan tanked 2.70 percent, New World Development surged 3.16 percent, Nongfu Spring skidded 1.13 percent, Techtronic Industries lost 0.27 percent, Xiaomi Corporation slumped 1.29 percent and WuXi Biologics rallied 2.12 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed but generally tracked higher throughout the day to end with modest gains.

The Dow climbed 105.11 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 42,866.87, while the NASDAQ gained 123.75 points or 0.63 percent to close at 19,714.99 and the S&P 500 added 32.93 points or 0.55 percent to end at 6,038.81.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came amid optimism as traders awaited the outcome of the ongoing trade talks between China and the U.S. in London.

Trade negotiations between the world's two largest economies commenced on Monday - and while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the talks are "going well," there has been no breakthrough as of yet.

In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business said the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index in the US increased to 98.8 in May 2025, the highest in three months, compared to 95.8 in April. The reading was expected to come in with a score of 95.9.

Crude oil prices were down on Tuesday amidst uncertainty over trade talks between China and the United States continued, although the outcome remains uncertain. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $0.31 to settle at $64.98 per barrel.