Hong Kong Shares May Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 820 points or 3.9 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 22,975-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher amidst a lack of strong catalysts. The European and U.S. markets finished barely higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following big gains from the technology stocks and a mixed performance from the property sector.

For the day, the index spiked 360.58 points or 1.59 percent to finish at 22,976.81 after trading between 22,608.18 and 23,141.41.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 3.36 percent, while Alibaba Health Info soared 3.38 percent, ANTA Sports slid 0.23 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.69 percent, China Mengniu Dairy eased 0.13 percent, China Resources Land added 0.40 percent, CITIC improved 0.86 percent, CNOOC gained 0.22 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical and ENN Energy both strengthened 1.68 percent, Galaxy Entertainment slumped 1.00 percent, Haier Smart Home climbed 1.56 percent, Hang Lung Properties rose 0.16 percent, Henderson Land stumbled 2.07 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas advanced 0.98 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.87 percent, JD.com fell 0.32 percent, Lenovo and CKI Holdings both lost 0.48 percent, Li Auto jumped 2.19 percent, Li Ning dropped 0.97 percent, Meituan rallied 2.37 percent, New World Development tumbled 1.88 percent, Nongfu Spring increased 0.43 percent, Techtronic Industries shed 0.85 percent, Xiaomi Corporation surged 7.20 percent and WuXi Biologics accelerated 3.20 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is flat to higher as the major averages spent most of Tuesday in the shallow red before a late push nudged them barely into positive territory at the close.

The Dow added 10.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 44,556.34, while the NASDAQ rose 14.49 points or 0.07 percent to close at 20,041.26 and the S&P gained 14.95 points or 0.24 percent to end at a record 6,139.58.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders remained on the sidelines following the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in February. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday on supply concerns after Ukraine launched a drone attack on an export pipeline in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.85 a barrel, gaining $1.11, or 1.57 percent.