Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Monday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 750 points or 4.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 18,400-point plateau and it may see additional support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of key data later in the week, although slumping oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are likely to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday with gains across the board, especially among the technology stocks and financials.

For the day, the index surged 323.43 points or 1.79 percent to finish at 18,403.04 after trading between 18,283.56 and 18,573.81.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group advanced 2.34 percent, while Alibaba Health Info soared 2.74 percent, ANTA Sports and Xiaomi Corporation both jumped 2.40 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 2.35 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 2.51 percent, China Resources Land improved 2.29 percent, CITIC accelerated 2.53 percent, CNOOC added 0.72 percent, Country Garden was up 0.18 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical perked 1.21 percent, Galaxy Entertainment increased 2.00 percent, Hang Lung Properties strengthened 2.38 percent, Henderson Land gained 1.85 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gathered 1.32 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.13 percent, JD.com spiked 2.55 percent, Lenovo was up 1.07 percent, Li Ning added 1.97 percent, Meituan surged 3.71 percent, New World Development dipped 0.12 percent, Techtronic Industries perked 0.21 percent and WuXi Biologics rose 1.62 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned lower and spent most of the day in the red before a late push saw them end mixed and little changed.

The Dow slumped 115.29 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 38,571.03, while the NASDAQ added 93.65 points or 0.56 percent to close at 16,828.67 and the S&P 500 rose 5.89 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,283.40.

Investors locked in recent gains in the first half of the day, consolidating positions ahead of key data later in the week. Late bargain hunting boosted the averages going into the close.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said that manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in May. Also, the U.S. Census Bureau said U.S. construction spending unexpectedly shrunk in April.

Oil prices fell to a four-month low on Monday after OPEC said it will begin phasing out voluntary production cuts over the next year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $2.77 or about 3.6 percent at $74.22 a barrel.