Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Monday, one session after ending the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 650 points or 3.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,540-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected ahead of key inflation data later in the week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished barely lower on Monday following losses from the insurance companies, while the properties and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index dipped 1.54 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 19,537.92 after trading between 19,352.35 and 19,581.82.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group rose 0.47 percent, while Alibaba Health Info gained 0.54 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.80 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.17 percent, China Mengniu Dairy perked 0.18 percent, China Resources Land dropped 0.85 percent, CITIC and Techtronic Industries both improved 0.72 percent, CNOOC surged 2.61 percent, Country Garden plummeted 7.32 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plunged 4.21 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rallied 1.00 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 0.18 percent, Henderson Land added 0.66 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gathered 0.31 percent, JD.com was up 0.13 percent, Lenovo gathered 0.34 percent, Li Ning retreated 1.35 percent, Meituan increased 0.49 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 0.82 percent, WuXi Biologics tanked 2.45 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and New World Development were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely stayed that way, finishing firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 407.51 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 35,473.13, while the NASDAQ climbed 85.16 points or 0.61 percent to close at 13,994.40 and the S&P 500 gained 40.41 points or 0.90 percent to end at 4,518.44.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as investors indulged in some bargain hunting after last week's losses.

The upside was measured, however, ahead of crucial reports on consumer and producer price inflation later in the week, which could affect the Federal Reserve's plan for interest rates.

Most economists expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Fed next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Oil futures settled lower on Monday, coming off the four-month highs they touched last week. The dollar's strength ahead of inflation data weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $0.88 or 1.1 percent at $81.94 a barrel.