Higher Open Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slumping almost 300 points or 1.9 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,500-point plateau although it's likely to find support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index dropped 124.23 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 16,505.00 after trading between 16,408.02 and 16,579.55.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group dropped 0.62 percent, while Alibaba Health Info tanked 3.27 percent, ANTA Sports shed 0.48 percent, China Life Insurance declined 2.03 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 2.39 percent, China Resources Land slumped 1.28 percent, CITIC eased 0.14 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.82 percent, Country Garden plummeted 11.71 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical stumbled 1.29 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gained 0.24 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas skidded 1.04 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.54 percent, JD.com tumbled 2.65 percent, Lenovo added 0.39 percent, Li Ning rallied 1.29 percent, Meituan plunged 5.65 percent, Techtronic Industries fell 0.16 percent, Xiaomi Corporation jumped 1.51 percent, WuXi Biologics surrendered 3.07 percent and Hang Lung Properties, Henderson Land and New World Development were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 251.90 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 37,557.92, while the NASDAQ advanced 98.03 points or 0.66 percent to close at 15,003.22 and the S&P 500 added 27.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 4,768.37.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates continued to contribute to strength on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last week.

Adding to the positive sentiment, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said interest rate cuts are likely to be appropriate next year because of an improvement in inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in November. Also, building permits slumped more than expected.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains on supply concerns after several companies rerouting their vessels due to the attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January rose $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.44 a barrel.