Hong Kong Stock Market May Extend Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had given up almost 600 points or 2.5 percent. The Hang Seng now sits just above the 23,830-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian market is cautiously optimistic thanks to easing crude oil prices and hopes for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the technology stocks and semiconductors were offset by weakness among the financial shares and property stocks.

For the day, the index gained 68.05 points or 0.28 percent to finish at the daily high of 24,040.34 after moving as low as 23,835.68.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but generally trended higher throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow added 90.94 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 51,267.90, while the NASDAQ jumped 286.45 points or 1.05 percent to end at a record 27,477.31 and the S&P 500 gained 51.23 points or 0.66 percent to close at 7,773.95.

The strength on Wall Street may partly have reflected easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following last week's inflation and employment data.

On Wednesday, the Fed is scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in September.

Crude oil prices moved sharply lower on Monday amid indications that exports from the Middle East are returning to pre-war levels despite the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery sank $1.21 or 1.3 percent to $89.90 a barrel.