Hong Kong Shares Poised To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 350 points or 1.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,430-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on increasing concerns over the Republican-manufactured U.S. debt ceiling confrontation. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index retreated 246.25 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 19,431.25 after trading between 19,363.50 and 19,769.14.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group slid 0.72 percent, while Alibaba Health Info was down 0.20 percent, ANTA Sports plunged 2.67 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.17 percent, China Mengniu Dairy lost 0.80 percent, China Resources Land sank 1.09 percent, CITIC dipped 0.58 percent, CNOOC fell 0.78 percent, Country Garden tanked 2.62 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical added 0.66 percent, Galaxy Entertainment perked 0.10 percent, Hang Lung Properties eased 0.16 percent, Henderson Land dropped 1.10 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas shed 0.95 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stumbled 1.35 percent, JD.com skidded 1.21 percent, Lenovo retreated 1.51 percent, Li Ning plummeted 2.91 percent, Meituan gained 0.15 percent, New World Development slumped 1.34 percent, Techtronic Industries surrendered 1.90 percent, Xiaomi Corporation declined 1.82 percent and WuXi Biologics advanced 0.67 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent much of the day hugging the line before slumping in the afternoon.

The Dow tumbled 231.07 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 33,055.51, while the NASDAQ sank 160.53 points or 1.26 percent to end at 12,560.25 and the S&P 500 dropped 47.05 points or 1.12 percent to close at 4,145.58.

The markets continue to be weighed by the debt ceiling negotiations. U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said they held productive talks but there was no agreement on how to raise the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

In economic news, the S&P Global US Composite PMI accelerated to its fastest pace in more than a year, while the Commerce Department said new home sales surprised much higher to the upside.

Crude oil futures advanced on speculation that OPEC might consider another production cut next month, and on a warning from Saudi Arabia's energy minister that oil prices will stop declining. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $0.86 or 1.2 percent at $72.91 a barrel.