Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open To The Downside On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in four straight trading days, collecting almost 700 points or 3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 24,590-point plateau although it's likely to see some profit taking on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with weakness expected from the oil, finance and property stocks, while the technology companies may offer support. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were also mostly soft and the Asian market figure to open in the red.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financial shares and property stocks.

For the day, the index surged 386.80 points or 1.60 percent to finish at the daily high of 24,590.12 after trading as low as 24,141.88.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 6.97 percent, while Alibaba Health Info accelerated 2.93 percent, ANTA Sports added 1.24 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.37 percent, China Mengniu Dairy improved 1.34 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 1.53 percent, CITIC declined 1.28 percent, CNOOC sank 0.54 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical skyrocketed 7.51 percent, Galaxy Entertainment eased 0.13 percent, Haier Smart Home rallied 2.49 percent, Hang Lung Properties increased 0.27 percent, Henderson Land and JD.com both expanded 2,12 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 1.04 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.49 percent, Lenovo jumped 2.75 percent, Li Auto advanced 1.35 percent, Li Ning slumped 1.12 percent, Meituan soared 4.38 percent. New World Development dropped 0.89 percent, Nongfu Spring strengthened 2.25 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 3.91 percent, Xiaomi Corporation gained 0.61 percent and WuXi Biologics climbed 2.06 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and trended generally lower, remaining mixed at the close.

The Dow tumbled 436.36 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 44,023.29, while the NASDAQ gained 37.47 points or 0.18 percent to close at a record 20,677.80 and the S&P 500 sank 24,80 points or 0.40 percent to end at 6,243.76.

The uptick by the NASDAQ came amid strength in the semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index ended the session at its best closing level in a year.

Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the sector higher, with the AI darling surging by 4.0 percent to a record closing high after indicating it will "soon" resume H20 AI chip sales to China.

On the other hand, housing stocks moved sharply lower on the day, resulting in a 3.3 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Oil service stocks also slumped amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 3.1 percent.

Crude oil price fell modestly on Tuesday as the previously predicted supply-side pressure from Russia due to President Donald Trump's sanctions waned with his 50-day ultimatum. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed down by $0.46 at $66.52 per barrel.