Hong Kong Stock Market May Open Under Water

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 1,000 points or 4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 25,150-point plateau although it may head south again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the major averages is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates and on the continuing conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday with gains in all sections, especially the financial shares and the technology companies.

For the day, the index surged 580.81 points or 2.36 percent to finish at 25,143.05 after trading between 24,756.36 and 25,155.55.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Monday but gradually sank into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 307.16 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 51,839.26, while the NASDAQ dipped 12.17 points or 0.05 percent to close at 25,508.07 and the S&P 500 eased 14.41 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,443.28.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders looked up to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the notable pullback seen over the two previous sessions.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as concerns the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran led to a surge by treasury yields and worries about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing a modest decline by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in June.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday as the U.S. and Iran continue to attack each other even as both sides appear ready to renew diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $0.39 or 0.47 percent at $82.88 per barrel.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide June numbers for consumer prices later today; in May, overall inflation was flat on month and up 2.00 percent on year.